Do You Have a Girlfriend?
The dozen or so people in the livestream room began guessing how old player four was, ranging from an elementary school kid to a middle-aged uncle. In the end, almost everyone was convinced he was a middle-aged uncle.
Wen Ci opened another round and, by chance, saw the chat. Amused, he asked player four why he had chosen that name.
Player four did not answer.
There was a flood of hahas in the chat. Wen Ci thought no answer was coming, but near the end of the match, player four turned on his mic and said, “It’s not mine.”
“Someone else’s account.”
The voice was low and magnetic, with a gentle warmth to it. It was definitely not the voice of some middle-aged uncle, and he sounded about the same age as Wen Ci.
Wen Ci froze, then looked at the chat and said, “Your voice sounds really nice. Everyone’s praising it.”
“And you?”
“What?”
“Do you think my voice sounds nice?”
“Of course.” Wen Ci did not think much of it and answered instinctively.
Player four muted his mic and did not speak again.
Someone in the chat asked Wen Ci why he had chosen the name “Invincible Little Overlord.”
Wen Ci took out one person with a sniper rifle and answered the chat, “Because I’m an invincible little overlord.”
The chat was full of merciless mockery, and someone even called him Little Turtle. After seeing that, Wen Ci immediately changed his name.
Someone asked if he could show his face. Wen Ci paused and turned to look at the camera sitting on the table.
The livestream room was silent for a long time, until the camera was turned on.
The man seated in front of the screen slowly leaned toward the camera and fiddled with it for a moment. When the livestream image showed only half of his side profile, he blinked and asked in a slightly muffled voice, “Can you see it?”
No one answered. Wen Ci glanced at the viewers. There were only twenty-six of them, and no chat messages, which was normal enough. He was just about to turn it off when several messages appeared almost at the same time.
“The streamer is so good-looking.”
“Ahhh? This isn’t a gaming streamer, this is a looks streamer.”
“Damn, this face is the perfect example of someone who should be living off looks but insists on relying on skill, even though the streamer doesn’t really have any skill.”
Wen Ci had not used beauty filters. The face on the screen was delicate, pale, and flawless, and even from so close, there was not a single visible pore. His eyes were dark and bright, with a trace of laughter rippling in them, the kind of gaze that made it impossible to look away.
In the quiet room, the man watching the livestream lifted a hand and lightly dragged a finger across the computer screen, as if he were touching the face in the livestream itself.
A faint smile curved his lips. That cold, aloof face grew vivid with the smile, and the sharp, chilly edges of his brows and eyes softened a great deal.
“What are you looking at? You look like a total creep. Wait, don’t tell me you’re dating someone?” The laptop beside him was connected to a video call. The man on the other end picked up the laptop and leaned closer to the camera, crying out in disbelief, “Chi Guanyan, do you have a girlfriend? Why are you looking at it so gently?”
The warmth in his eyes vanished without a trace. Chi Guanyan stared expressionlessly at the laptop and said in a flat voice, “Anything else?”
“Yes, I want to talk to you about my next idea. What exactly are you doing? You’ve been staring at the computer the whole time, and you even said a few really strange things just now. You also borrowed a game account from me before, which was weird. You really…”
He kept guessing wildly, but Chi Guanyan cut off the video without a shred of politeness.
Luo Mingyou, who had not finished speaking: “…”
＊
“I’m logging off. See you all tomorrow.” The last half hour had been spent almost entirely on face-cam chat. Wen Ci waved at the camera, ended the stream, and was just about to exit the game when he noticed someone in the game had sent a friend request.
When he clicked it open, it was none other than the one with the nice voice, “Sad Man Doesn’t Cry.”
Wen Ci accepted and told him he was going to sleep.
Sad Man Doesn’t Cry: “Good night.”
Wen Ci: “Good night.”
Wen Ci had been looking for a job for half a month. He had already interviewed at all the companies nearby, but still had not found anything suitable.
Li Shengcheng had invited him out several times before, all of which Wen Ci had turned down. This time, when Li Shengcheng called again, Wen Ci had just finished an interview, so he agreed.
Li Shengcheng said, “Same place as before, Moonlight. I’ll go ahead and wait for you.”
Wen Ci said, “Okay.”
＊
By the time he reached the private room at Moonlight KTV by taxi, several people were already inside, all familiar faces. When they saw Wen Ci come in, they greeted him one after another.
Li Shengcheng was singing “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong,” and not a single note was in tune. If it counted as singing at all, it was no different from howling like a ghost.
“Yo, Wen Ci’s here.” Just as Wen Ci sat down in the corner and was about to get some water because he was thirsty, the person sitting nearby let out a sarcastic laugh.
Wen Ci glanced at him and shot back in the same tone, “Yo, and who are you?”
The other man’s face went green, and he immediately shut up.
Wen Ci took a sip of water and said with a smile, “Sorry, the room’s too dark. I couldn’t see clearly. Now I can. It’s Han Dan.”
Among this little group, Han Dan was the one Wen Ci got along with the worst.
Even on the day Wen Ci jumped into the sea, Han Dan had stood off to the side with a glass of wine in hand, watching the show with a grin on his face, only too eager for Wen Ci to die so he could clap and send him off.
Han Dan curled his lips and sneered, “It’s fine. I understand that your eyesight’s bad.”
Wen Ci sighed. “My eyesight’s pretty good. Especially when I’m looking at people, I see them very clearly. It’s just cats and dogs I don’t see as well.”
“You’re calling me a dog?” Wen Ci’s remark instantly set Han Dan’s temper off. He shot to his feet, his expression twisting.
The outburst made even Li Shengcheng stop singing. He turned around and looked over. “Huh? What dog? What’s Han Dan saying?”
Han Dan glared at Wen Ci, his face like a color palette, changing hues with the private room lights. He pointed at Wen Ci and snapped, “I’ve put up with you for a long time. I didn’t want to argue with you, and now what’s this supposed to mean? You come in and immediately call me a dog? What kind of person are you?”
The room fell completely silent because of his words.
That made Han Dan uncomfortable instead. He looked left and right, and aside from Wen Ci and Li Shengcheng, everyone else kept their heads down and pretended not to exist, terrified of getting dragged into it.
Wen Ci poured himself a glass of wine, looked up at Han Dan, and asked in confusion, “Did I call you a dog? I said my eyesight’s good, and it’s only when I look at cats and dogs that things get a little blurry. Why are you so worked up?”
Han Dan’s brows shot up high. He ground his teeth for a long time, but not a single word came out. In the end, he flopped back down onto the sofa, so angry his expression turned ferocious.
The people beside him urged him in low voices not to be angry. Han Dan kept a cold face, then suddenly seemed to think of something and laughed mockingly. “Fine, fine, you’re pretty pitiful too, so I won’t argue with you.”
Wen Ci’s hand tightened around his wineglass. He turned his head to look at him and repeated with a faint smile, “Pitiful?”
He looked like he was smiling, but his tone was full of chill, and his gaze was as sharp and cold as a blade.
Han Dan’s back stiffened. What he feared most was Wen Ci making that expression.
Usually when he did, somebody ended up suffering.
Wen Ci was quick with words, and he could fight too. No one here was his match.
Thinking of that, Han Dan swallowed, a little nervous. It took a full minute before he finally straightened his back.
“I heard you’re not the Wen family’s biological son, and that the real one has already come back. You’ve already left the Wen family, haven’t you? I heard you’ve even gone looking for a job? Tsk, tsk. A little young master who used to sit so high and mighty is now going off to work. Isn’t that pitiful? So pitiful. I doubt the Wen family will ever let you, the fake one, go back. Wen Ci, now that you’ve lost the Wen family, have you figured out how you’re going to live after this? Don’t tell me you’re going to end up drinking the northwest wind?”
Only Li Shengcheng knew that Wen Ci was looking for a job.
Afraid of being misunderstood, Li Shengcheng quickly raised a hand and explained, “They asked what you’ve been up to lately when I just got here, so I mentioned in passing that you were looking for work. Han Dan, are you out of your mind? Why are you being so sarcastic here?”
Han Dan sneered. “Sarcastic? The one who got sarcastic first was Wen Ci. Besides, everything I said is true. Don’t tell me you all still don’t know Wen Ci isn’t the Wen family’s biological son? The real son has already come back and replaced Wen Ci. Now Wen Ci is a discarded pawn. Do you understand what a discarded pawn is? What’s wrong with me saying he’s pitiful?”
The sound of ice dropping into a glass cut off Han Dan’s words mid-sentence. He turned a strange look toward Wen Ci, who was expressionless and leisurely drinking instead. Wen Ci’s calmness made him uncomfortable, even uneasy.
“Done talking? Is that all you wanted to say?”
Han Dan adjusted his clothes, curled his lip, and treated Wen Ci’s calm as nothing more than an act. “Go on and pretend. You’re probably panicking inside by now, right? After all, nobody’s backing you up anymore. Let’s see what else you’ve got to be arrogant about. You haven’t shown your face these last few days. Don’t tell me you were too embarrassed to show up because you got kicked out of the Wen family?”
“What am I pretending about? I just left the Wen family. I’m neither crippled nor dead, unlike you, who got your ex-girlfriend pregnant and got chased all the way to your company to be cursed out. Not just your company employees, but people from the other companies around you all know about your mess now. Oh, right, I remember your parents were humiliated for a whole month, weren’t they?”
“And I also remember your current girlfriend thinks you’re not very capable. She was cheating on you with three men at once, and when she dumped you, you still refused to agree. You were even happy to let your girlfriend be with three men at once, or rather, make that four now, counting you. You ran the company for a single day and lost three hundred million, and your dad was so mad he ended up in the hospital. By the way, your family company still hasn’t gone under? I thought it would’ve collapsed ages ago.”
Wen Ci leaned lazily against the sofa, resting his face on one hand, his expression loose and careless, not caring in the least about Han Dan’s taunts.
Han Dan’s face changed drastically. He never would have imagined Wen Ci would suddenly bring up all those things. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally forced out, “Who said I’m not capable!”
Several muffled laughs sounded in the private room, and Li Shengcheng laughed the loudest.
Han Dan came to his senses and ground out, “What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t go too far. Even if your Wen family goes bankrupt, our family won’t.”
“Isn’t that just common knowledge?” Wen Ci spread his hands, looking perfectly innocent, and repeated in the same tone Han Dan had used before, “I’m talking nonsense?”
He glanced at the others. Everyone who met his gaze immediately shook their heads.
“Shut up!” Han Dan had too many messy things hanging over him, and what he feared most was people pointing out the things he had done wrong over and over again. Hearing Wen Ci bring them up now, he was both ashamed and furious. He grabbed the wine bottle on the table and swung it at Wen Ci’s head.
Li Shengcheng shouted, “What are you doing? Have you really gone crazy? What are you all standing there watching for? Pull him back! If a fight breaks out, be careful Han Dan ends up bedridden for three months.”
By the time the people beside him moved to stop him, it was already too late. Hearing Li Shengcheng’s words, Han Dan actually laughed in anger and smashed the bottle down in one go.
He had a lot of strength, but his aim was off, and Wen Ci dodged it easily.
“It’s been so long since we last saw each other, and you still have nothing but brute strength and no brain.” Wen Ci smoothed down his slightly wrinkled shirt and said with a smile.
As Han Dan looked at the smile on Wen Ci’s face, his eyes reddened. He smashed the bottle on the floor and sat back down on the sofa, refusing to speak.
He had originally wanted to mock Wen Ci to the fullest, but in just a few words Wen Ci had mocked him back, and with the very things he least wanted to remember.
Li Shengcheng said helplessly, “Why did you have to do this?”
The others looked at one another, none of them saying anything.
“You can only rely on your mouth now. Let’s see what you do later.” Han Dan gradually calmed down and sneered. “You’ve lost the Wen family, but I still have the Han family. You’re already finished. Everyone else is going uphill, and you’re the only one going downhill. I was right to call you pitiful.”