After Shen Huai finished his live stream, he logged back into his alternate account and immediately received a message from a friend.
[Friend] [Sui Xue]: Congratulations.
During the recent cheating scandal, Song Xueyang had always stood by his side, even helping him by posting a preview on Weibo, which was a great help.
Shen Huai sincerely said, “It’s good to have you.”
Song Xueyang thought to himself that Shen Huai would need him in the future too, “Have you considered opening a Weibo account? I can help you get verified.”
Shen Huai knew his reputation wasn’t great and was too lazy to mingle on Weibo with a small account. As for his main account, even if he wanted to get verified, no one would believe it.
“Let’s talk about it later,” Shen Huai brushed it off, “Don’t you need to train?”
“No, we have a new teammate coming in, and I have to get up early to pick him up tomorrow, so I’ll be going to bed soon.”
“What position?”
“Assassin.”
Shen Huai was a bit surprised. He didn’t expect Song Xueyang to find a new teammate so quickly. Although this meant that Maple Moon wouldn’t be taking him back, Shen Huai wasn’t disappointed. He was genuinely happy that Song Xueyang found a suitable teammate.
“Then let me congratulate you,” he said.
Song Xueyang knew Cang Yu didn’t plan to join Maple Moon, but seeing him congratulate him so nonchalantly still made him a bit upset, “Aren’t you going to ask about his skills before congratulating me?”
Shen Huai could somehow tell from this sentence that Song Xueyang wasn’t very happy, “If you picked him, his skills must be fine.”
Song Xueyang felt like he was being fed honey, “I hope he likes me. What do you think I should wear to meet him?”
Shen Huai usually had a designer pick out his clothes for outings, so he never worried about what to wear. But since Song Xueyang asked, he thought about it seriously.
When faced with such questions, people often subconsciously put themselves in the situation, and Song Xueyang knew this well, which is why he asked.
After a full five minutes, Shen Huai said, “Something casual, too formal would seem stiff.”
Song Xueyang asked again, “Should I bring a gift?”
This question was even harder for Shen Huai. He rarely had to prepare gifts himself, but he knew such etiquette was important, “You could.”
“What kind of gift would be good?”
This time, Shen Huai thought even longer. He had no experience in gift-giving; usually, his assistant would pick out gifts for him, and sometimes he didn’t even have to deliver them himself, just pay for them.
Shen Huai couldn’t think of anything, so he searched online for “what gift to give when meeting an online friend for the first time.” The results made him blush, as it seemed everyone had a biased view of “meeting online friends.”
He emphasized by adding “same-sex” before “online friend” and finally found a reliable suggestion after a long search, which he copied and pasted.
“A gift that’s too expensive for a first meeting can make people nervous. Local specialties are versatile, not too grand, yet polite, and can promote cultural exchange.”
Song Xueyang saw through it immediately, “You Googled that, didn’t you?”
“…”
“I’ve never heard you say such long sentences except when commanding in games.”
Shen Huai tried to salvage some sincerity, “Bring some food.”
He tried hard to think of something tasty and portable from Shanghai and suddenly remembered the braised prawns Song Xueyang made, “Your braised prawns are good.”
Song Xueyang couldn’t help but laugh. Their usual conversations revolved around games, and he never realized Shen Huai was so easy to trick, spilling the beans with just a few words.
Shen Huai still hadn’t realized that as “Cang Yu,” he shouldn’t have known about Song Xueyang’s braised prawns, “You should rest early. You can’t make a good impression on your teammate with dark circles.”
Song Xueyang checked the time; it was indeed time for him to “rest,” while the mall was still open.
“Goodnight.”
Shen Huai also sent a “Goodnight,” and seeing Song Xueyang’s avatar turn gray, he felt a sense of loss.
Song Xueyang had found a new teammate, but he still hadn’t found a team.
After the recent cheating scandal, the War God team was definitely not a good place to go. The remaining options were last year’s third-place team WG, fifth-place Thunder, and sixth-place Supper. The seventh and eighth teams were relatively weak, and Shen Huai was aiming for the championship, so the team’s overall level couldn’t be too low.
After tonight’s live stream clarification, the streamer who had been the loudest about him cheating had gone silent. His Weibo had disabled comments, but the storm hadn’t subsided.
A bunch of small accounts popped up like mushrooms after the rain, denouncing the rumor-mongering streamer. It was obvious they were hired, but interestingly, the netizens were very friendly towards these hired accounts. In the end, many big accounts humorously joked, “If we don’t hire them, people will think our Feather God is easy to bully!”
Shen Huai hadn’t hired any of these accounts. He had no connections in the e-sports circle, so it was definitely Song Xueyang who did it.
However, no one blamed Xiao Zhang for anything. The instigator of this farce was still living a peaceful life. Shen Huai specifically checked his Weibo, and the latest comments were from after his live stream, with topics unrelated to him.
On the forums, someone was secretly digging into the fact that Xiao Zhang was the mastermind behind all this, but those who revealed the truth were quickly scolded back by hordes of “Xiao God fans.” Most of them didn’t like Cang Yu and had no guilt in bashing him. One fan even said—
[Does he want to go pro without checking if any team wants him first?]
Every word hit hard.
Shen Huai didn’t expect to rely on fans to do anything. Even when he was an actor, he never used fans to suppress others. In his view, the fans’ feelings for their idols were the most sincere and selfless, and such pure emotions should be carefully cherished, not exploited.
Personal grudges should be resolved with strength.
See you on the battlefield, Xiao Zhang.
After turning off his phone, Shen Huai fell asleep. He didn’t know who he would meet when he woke up, but he didn’t sleep well that night, waking up feeling a bit listless.
He had a quick breakfast and logged into the game. As expected, Song Xueyang wasn’t online, and the others were all busy.
Shen Huai joined Yiye Bianzhou and the others for two large dungeons and started feeling hungry. He usually didn’t like breakfast, but thinking about how Song Xueyang was meeting his new teammate with local specialties made him want to eat something.
He started browsing recipes online and even downloaded a food app. After a while, he realized, “I can make what I don’t want to eat, and I can’t make what I want to eat,” so he decided to order takeout.
*
The security guard at the community was scrutinizing the smiling boy in front of him with suspicion. Judging by his age and attire, he didn’t look like a bad person, but those fox-like eyes made him uneasy.
Song Xueyang showed him his phone with a dead battery, “My phone’s really out of power. Otherwise, I’d definitely call him myself. I mean, who brings shrimp to an interview?”
The guard thought to himself that there had been plenty of reporters trying to sneak in to take pictures of Shen Huai recently, but none had succeeded under his watchful eye. If this one was any different from the others…
It was because he hadn’t slipped him a bribe!
The guard was a righteous man, with professional ethics and a disdain for lowly interests. After careful consideration, to avoid the resident missing an important partner, he decided to call the resident of unit 8.
Shen Huai had just ordered takeout when the landline rang. Seeing it was the security guard’s number, he appreciated the delivery person’s dedication and said without asking, “Let him in.”
The guard, who hadn’t said a word yet, hesitated but finally squeezed out a word, “Okay.”
He watched Song Xueyang’s cheerful figure with a small backpack, feeling something was off, and seriously took a photo with his phone.
This had to be kept as evidence, just in case something happened and he couldn’t explain it.
Before the thought faded, a braking sound came from behind, “Hello, XX delivery, for unit 8.”
“…”
The guard stared at him for a while, “Wait a moment, let me catch my breath.”
Shen Huai estimated the time and opened the door, standing at the entrance while playing on his phone.
He was wearing a dark blue loungewear set, with cute little monster slippers on his feet. The flannel pajama pants draped softly over his feet, the fine fluff accentuating his fair skin.
Song Xueyang had already seen him standing at the door. From his angle, he could see Shen Huai’s perfectly curved profile and the long, beautiful hand holding the phone.
If the last meeting left Song Xueyang with a stunning impression of Shen Huai, this time he felt an unprecedented sense of peace and warmth.
A subtle emotion rose within him, as if something unnoticed was slowly surfacing. The excitement of seeing Shen Huai far exceeded his initial intention of recruiting Cang Yu into the team.
He was so happy to finally meet Cang Yu, locking him in his gaze, never intending to let go.
“Are you cold?” he asked with a smile, softly.
“Hmm?” Shen Huai looked up, stunned.
His handsome face froze for a moment, like a finely crafted statue.
Song Xueyang chuckled, “Your phone’s about to fall.”
Shen Huai quickly tightened his grip on the phone, then immediately looked up at Song Xueyang, his bewildered expression like a lost elf suddenly discovering a long-lost miracle, making one want to hold him and comfort him.
“What are you doing here?” Shen Huai asked in surprise.
Song Xueyang naturally extended his hand, “I’m here to bring you back to the team, Cang Yu.”
He was wearing a plaid shirt, layered with a pure white sweater, and white sports pants and shoes that matched the winter season.
Many guys prefer black for a mature and handsome look, but Song Xueyang looked great in white too. Just as he said yesterday, mature and gentle, neither too formal nor too stiff, his warm smile like a spring breeze, as if surrounded by the warmest winter sunlight.
Recalling his words from yesterday, Shen Huai blushed, from his ears down to his neck.
Do two grown men really need to make such a big deal out of meeting? Asking about his preferences beforehand, like a boy cautiously preparing for a date with a beloved girl.
Shen Huai couldn’t help but glance at his hand, which indeed held a bag of shrimp, clearly freshly bought.
He stepped aside, and Song Xueyang walked in.
Shen Huai took a step back, “I…”
“You better not deny it.” Song Xueyang gently closed the door, making Shen Huai’s heart skip a beat, “When have you ever seen me do something I’m not sure of?”