Jiang Xu lowered his gaze. Lin Jianxi’s character, Goya, stood motionless at the fountain. The other two teammates were already dead, while Li Bai and Yao were desperately defending the tower.
“Xixi? Sis? Did you disconnect? Bad internet or something? That shouldn’t be the case.”
“Xie Zhiyun, why aren’t you shielding? Oh no, I’m done for, we’re about to get wiped.”
Hearing Qiao Zhisheng’s wails from the phone, Lin Jianxi frowned as she sat beside Jiang Xu. In the game, all her teammates were dead, and the opponents were destroying the middle lane’s first tower.
Lin Jianxi tried again to snatch the phone from Jiang Xu’s hands. The man held it tightly, giving her no chance. Frustrated, she pinched his waist.
Jiang Xu winced in pain, his brows furrowed. The woman glared at him with captivating, shimmering eyes, her cheeks flushed red—whether from anger or heat, it was unclear.
Lin Jianxi leaned close to his ear and said, word by word, “Jiang Xu! Give me back my phone!”
Jiang Xu froze for a moment. The woman’s warm breath brushed against his ear, accompanied by a faint, elegant scent of roses—familiar and pleasant.
Just then, Qiao Zhisheng’s voice echoed in their ears again, “We’re all done for, completely wiped out.”
Jiang Xu held the phone with both hands, his slender fingers moving deftly across the screen. The opponents had already destroyed the middle lane’s first tower. The most important task now was to clear the minion wave.
Lin Jianxi stared blankly at Jiang Xu, slowly releasing her grip on his waist. The man glanced at the equipment panel and even pre-purchased a resurrection armor…
“Xixi, you’re finally back! Did you disconnect earlier? Xie Zhiyun and I are both dead, leaving you alone to defend the base. It’s okay if you can’t hold it…”
Before Qiao Zhisheng could finish her sentence, the game announced an exhilarating voice broadcast.
“Double Kill.”
“Wow, a double kill! Xixi, how did you get so good all of a sudden? Did someone else take over?”
Hearing this, a flicker of embarrassment crossed Lin Jianxi’s shimmering eyes. Of course, someone else had taken over.
“Axi, focus on killing the carry first, just like I taught you earlier. Hold down the basic attack to deal continuous damage, and watch out for Wang Zhaojun’s second skill—don’t get frozen.”
Hearing Xie Zhiyun’s deep, magnetic voice, Jiang Xu’s fingers paused momentarily.
Qiao Zhisheng sounded incredulous. “Did someone really take over? Did my brother start playing? But that can’t be—he should be filming in S City right now.”
Lin Jianxi slowly leaned closer to Jiang Xu and spoke into the phone, “Sorry! I accidentally knocked over a glass of water earlier, and my phone got a little wet.”
Jiang Xu stiffened slightly. As she drew near, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted into his senses. He cleared the minion wave and returned to heal, while his teammates were seconds away from respawning.
Lin Jianxi’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly, her gaze fixed on the phone screen. Jiang Xu had cleared the middle lane’s minion wave, leaving only two low-health opponents.
Xie Zhiyun: “As long as you’re okay.”
Qiao Zhisheng: “Right, as long as you’re fine. I’m about to respawn. Let’s take a dragon and prepare for the final push.”
Lin Jianxi replied, “Okay.”
As soon as Xie Zhiyun respawned, he attached himself to Goya. Jiang Xu narrowed his eyes, staring at Yao, who was now attached to Goya. He furrowed his brows slightly and changed direction toward the bottom lane.
Xie Zhiyun’s puzzled voice came through the phone, “Axi, go help Li Bai with the dragon. What are you doing going to the bottom lane? If the two of us get caught trying to backdoor, we’re done for.”
Qiao Zhisheng chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, Xi Xi, come help me with the dragon quickly. I’m too slow fighting it alone, and the enemy team is about to come over.”
Lin Jianxi had the team voice chat on, so she couldn’t hear the random teammates through her phone. The two randoms knew they were using team chat and typed in the game.
[Li Xin: Is the marksman crazy? What are you doing going bot lane? Get up here and help with the dragon!!]
[Shen Mengxi: Come help with the dragon, you glued-together duo! Sticking together the whole game, showing off your affection?]
Lin Jianxi instinctively glanced at Jiang Xu. The man’s profile was sharp and well-defined, with thick, curled eyelashes, and his jawline seemed tightly clenched.
Lin Jianxi turned her gaze back to her phone screen. The three enemies had surrounded Goya and Yao. Goya used her ultimate to slow them down, activated her first skill to drift, and went straight into the fight.
Jiang Xu quickly pre-purchased the Resurrection Armor, then used his first skill to accelerate and close in. With Yao and the red buff boosting him, he eliminated the enemy marksman in just a few hits.
Lin Jianxi swiftly turned off the microphone and reached out to stop Jiang Xu. “Don’t swap to the Resurrection Armor instantly.”
Jiang Xu curved his lips, glancing sideways at her face. “How did you know I was going to swap to the Resurrection Armor instantly?”
Lin Jianxi rolled her eyes at him. “Haven’t I seen a pig run even if I haven’t eaten pork?”
Jiang Xu didn’t listen to Lin Jianxi. After instantly swapping to the Resurrection Armor, he swapped to the Blade of Despair just as quickly. Both enemy carries were eliminated by him, and Qiao Zhisheng gave up on the dragon to come support.
The other two random teammates also came to help.
“Victory!”
The game was won.
Qiao Zhisheng and Xie Zhiyun realized that the person playing wasn’t Lin Jianxi—someone else had taken over since defending the base. As for who it was, both of them knew perfectly well.
They tacitly pretended not to know. Qiao Zhisheng said, “Xi Xi, Xie Zhiyun, let’s call it a day here. I’m going to go practice the piano.”
Lin Jianxi took back her phone and turned on the microphone. “Alright, rest early. Don’t practice too late.”
“Okay, goodnight.” Qiao Zhisheng didn’t even wait for Lin Jianxi to say goodnight before leaving the team room and logging off.
Only Lin Jianxi and Xie Zhiyun remained in the team room. Lin Jianxi parted her red lips, about to speak, when Xie Zhiyun’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
“A Xi, want to have a 1v1 match?”
Lin Jianxi’s slender fingers scrolled down the screen. It was 8:57. “Zhiyun Ge, let’s do it another day. It’s getting late, and I have to go to work tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, goodnight then, Little Spring Roll.”
Hearing this, Lin Jianxi’s pupils slightly contracted. “Little Spring Roll” was her childhood nickname. Ever since she got married, Xie Zhiyun had never called her by that name again.
Jiang Xu furrowed his brows slightly, his lips pressed tightly together. He half-closed his eyelids, his thick, curled lashes hiding the emotions in his eyes.
“A Xi?” Xie Zhiyun’s puzzled voice came through the phone again.
Lin Jianxi snapped back to reality, lowering her gaze to the avatar on the screen. “Goodnight, Zhiyun Ge.”
After Xie Zhiyun logged off, Lin Jianxi also exited the game and opened WeChat to check the public account of the qipao shop. It was almost time to post another article.
Jiang Xu turned his head. The cool white light fell directly on Lin Jianxi’s face, highlighting her delicate and beautiful profile. Her skin was as pale as porcelain, and the corners of her eyes tilted slightly upward.
“Lin Jianxi?”
“Huh?” Lin Jianxi turned her head and met Jiang Xu’s dark eyes. She paused for a moment. “What is it?”
Jiang Xu’s deep peach blossom eyes held an unusual emotion, his pupils clearly reflecting her beautiful image. “When did you start playing the game?”
“I forgot,” Lin Jianxi asked in return, “When did you start playing?”
Jiang Xu parted his lips, “Just now.”
Lin Jianxi: “…”
You just started? Are you serious?