When Wen Xiao’s message came in, Xie Shijin was playing a game with Jiang Zimo and the others.
He controlled his character with one hand and opened his phone with the other.
The first picture showed a hand holding a small shovel. The nails were neatly trimmed, the fingers fair and slender, the fingertips faintly pink, with tiny lunulae visible on each nail.
He looked at it twice, then opened the next picture.
His gaze paused.
The pale yellow brought out the whiteness of her skin even more. Her neck was slender, her collarbones straight, and the neckline revealed just a hint of a curve.
Even without showing her face, she had a striking presence.
Naiyou Paofu rarely posted pictures of herself. She had only shared one selfie before, and even then she’d sounded rather bashful.
Wei Yu had told him that girls were protective of their image; whenever they video-called her, she only showed one eye.
“Fuck, get in there, Xie Shijin! I’m about to get killed!”
Jiang Zimo hammered at the keyboard, but the enemy female gunner still killed him.
Fuming, he turned around and found Xie Shijin staring at his phone.
He leaned over to look. It was a beautiful woman’s internet photo, but before he could get a good look, Xie Shijin turned the phone facedown.
Jiang Zimo looked up and met Xie Shijin’s impassive expression.
Jiang Zimo said, “I’m reporting you. Xie Shijin’s checking out pretty girls and doesn’t give a damn if his brothers live or die.”
Li Xiuchi chimed in, “What’s with you, Young Master Xie? There’s no love in esports.”
Wei Yu took off his headset, looking eager. “Where’s the pretty girl? Let me see, let me see what kind of treasure Xie Shijin’s hiding.”
“I’m done. You guys play,” Xie Shijin said.
With that, he took off his headset, picked up his coat, and sat down on a sofa nearby.
Li Xiuchi and Jiang Zimo exchanged a glance.
Li Xiuchi asked, “What did you do to piss him off?”
“I just glanced at the pretty girl’s photo. I didn’t even see her face, and Xie Shijin covered his phone. I never realized this guy was so possessive.”
Li Xiuchi glanced at the man sitting there looking at his phone, a thought crossing his mind.
Could that photo have been of his online girlfriend?
They’d grown up together, so Li Xiuchi knew Xie Shijin well. Plenty of girls had flocked around him, but he’d never shown interest in any of them—except Naiyou Paofu. She was the only woman around Xie Shijin.
Xie Shijin: You look great.
Xie Shijin: What are you going to do with that little shovel?
He waited a long time, but she didn’t reply.
“Xie Shijin, want to play Honor of Kings? Naiyou Paofu’s on too,” Jiang Zimo shouted.
So she wasn’t replying because she was playing Honor of Kings?
Xie Shijin switched out of the chat.
He logged into Honor of Kings. Naiyou Paofu was indeed online, and the team queue below showed Ranked 2/5.
Jiang Zimo began, “So you’re already playing—”
He stopped when he saw that Xie Shijin was shown as online.
That meant Naiyou Paofu was duo-queuing with someone else.
Oho.
Jiang Zimo had said it: Xie Shijin had fallen out of favor.
Xie Shijin’s expression turned cold. He held his phone and leaned back against the sofa without saying a word.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Zimo said. “When she’s done, I’ll invite her in. And whoever she’s duo-queuing with, too.”
The game ended soon enough.
Jiang Zimo was quick on the draw and immediately invited Naiyou Paofu.
She didn’t seem the least bit guilty. She accepted, and soon another guy joined, sporting a black-and-white male avatar and the name Peng Yuyan.
Naiyou Paofu: There are five of us now. Let’s start, let’s start.
Jiang Zimo remarked, “That guy looks like a grade-schooler.”
Li Xiuchi said, “What a try-hard avatar.”
Jiang Zimo sneaked a glance at Xie Shijin and saw that his expression was calm, as if he didn’t care at all.
Jiang Zimo went ahead and hit Start Match.
Soon they were at the hero selection screen. Peng Yuyan instantly locked in Marco Polo, while Naiyou Paofu picked Yao.
Jiang Zimo sucked in a breath. The person in question was right here, and she wasn’t even trying to keep her distance? Marco and Yao weren’t a couple in the game, but anyone who played Honor of Kings knew how suggestive that pairing could be.
The waiting screen was even worse.
Peng Yuyan and Naiyou Paofu had a level-seventeen Bestie bond.
Naiyou Paofu and Xie Shijin, meanwhile, had only a level-three Couple bond.
In Honor of Kings, you could bind different kinds of relationships, and raise each one’s level by using intimacy items. For Naiyou Paofu and Peng Yuyan to reach level seventeen, either she’d sent him flowers, or they played together all the time.
Worse still, Naiyou Paofu had given Peng Yuyan the nickname Male Bestie, while Xie Shijin’s nickname was Dazhuti.
Put side by side, that was pretty telling.
Drawn over by their commotion, Wei Yu came over to look. When he saw Male Bestie, he said flatly, “Which do you believe—that he’s really her male bestie, or that I’m Qin Shi Huang?”
Jiang Zimo said, “I pay my respects to Qin Shi Huang.”
Xie Shijin: “…”
Li Xiuchi said, “How come someone’s got green on his head?”
From the moment the game started, Yao stuck to Marco. When Yao went back to base, Marco even made a special trip back to pick her up. And when they passed Xie Shijin, the bond icon Marco flashed was Bestie.
Jiang Zimo really wanted to laugh, but Xie Shijin’s cold expression stopped him.
Xie Shijin went on a killing spree that match. The enemy jungler was so thoroughly beaten that he didn’t even dare leave his tower.
While Xie Shijin was on a rampage, Marco and Yao kept teleporting back to base together. Yao even blew him kisses, and Marco made a special trip into the enemy jungle to take the blue buff and give it to Yao.
Jiang Zimo couldn’t take it anymore and typed: Could you two tone it down?
Peng Yuyan: Why?
Paofu Naiyou: What’s wrong? Am I not allowed to cuddle up to my boyfriend?
The three of them fell silent.
Jiang Zimo shot to his feet. “Fuck! So you’re the other woman, Xie Shijin!”
Xie Shijin’s expression turned icy. “Shut up.”
Jiang Zimo sheepishly covered his mouth.
He whispered to Li Xiuchi, “Naiyou Paofu’s really something. She’s two-timing Xie Shijin right to his face.”
Li Xiuchi considered it. “I don’t think that’s it. If she really wanted to two-time him, wouldn’t she keep it from him?”
Wei Yu said, “Maybe Xie Shijin’s part of their little play.”
It wasn’t as if he’d never done that before.
Jiang Zimo looked troubled. “I’m never getting an online girlfriend. Hell, you don’t even know how many backups you are.”
When the match ended, Xie Shijin left the game immediately.
He reopened the chat. Naiyou Paofu still hadn’t replied.
Xie Shijin gave a short, scornful laugh. Unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Wen Xiao had finally finished turning over the soil. There were still plenty of stones in it, which had slowed her down.
Fang Ruman was drenched in sweat. “Wen Xiaoxiao, getting one ice cream from you really wasn’t easy.”
Wen Xiao smiled sheepishly. “I’ll treat you to dinner later.”
“You can’t order delivery out here.”
“I won’t. I’ll cook.”
“?”
Fang Ruman stared at her in shock. “I help you with the work, and now you’re going to poison me?”
Wen Xiao could make even noodles taste awful.
“Don’t worry. I’ve been learning to cook lately. Give me a chance.”
“Fine. If it tastes bad, I won’t let you off.”
Wen Xiao nodded and went to get her phone, which she’d left on a rock.
She’d been recording for nearly two hours, and the phone was burning hot.
Wen Xiao replied to Xie Shijin: I just finished turning over the soil. I’m exhausted.
This time, he replied instantly: ?
Wen Xiao frowned. What was that supposed to mean?
Wen Xiao: I’m going to make dinner in a bit. I’ve been busy all afternoon, and I’m starving.
Xie Shijin: Oh.
Xie Shijin: [Transferred 1,000]
What did that mean? Why was he being even more sparing with his words?
Wen Xiao was completely baffled. And why was he transferring money to her again? Did he have too much money?
Still, it was better than him transferring tens of thousands at a time.
Wen Xiao: Then I’ll go cook?
Xie Shijin: Mm.