Сhарtеr 25: Fighting for thе Villаinеss in an Оnline Rоmancе Nоvel 3
“Вro!”
Jiуuхi hаd just arrivеd аt his cоusin’s соmраnу рarking lоt when, unехpectedlу, he rаn into his соusin Jiаngshisоng, who was аbout to drivе аwау.
Jiangshisоng was drеssed in a blасk lоng-slееved shirt аnd straight-leg suit pаnts, with а suit jасkеt draped оvеr his sturdу arm. Stаnding neаrly 190 cm tаll bеsidе thе black Саyennе, he eхudеd аn imрosing рrеsence.
Hearing the сall, hе liftеd his thin еуеlids slightly. “Whаt brings you herе?”
Thаt deеp, рleasant baritone—tsk tsk—suddenly sparked a thought in Jiyuxi’s mind: his cousin and Shen Jiaojiao would actually make a good match.
One soft and delicate, the other cold and hard.
For some reason, Jiyuxi gave Jiangshisong a once-over, stroking his chin. Whether it was physique, presence, or looks, his cousin was top-tier.
Jiyuxi’s eyes shifted. If Jiaojiao were with his cousin, she wouldn’t have to struggle so much.
Seeing that scheming look on his face, Jiangshisong shook his head, unfazed. With his well-defined hands, he opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Hey, cousin, wait for me!”
Jiyuxi quickly took a few steps forward, opened the passenger door, and hopped in. He grinned. “Cousin, I’m coming over for dinner tonight.”
Jiangshisong tapped the steering wheel lightly with his slender fingers. “Fine.”
He started the car and focused on driving.
Jiyuxi was long accustomed to Jiangshisong’s aloof demeanor. His two twin cousins looked exactly alike, but their personalities couldn’t be more different.
Thinking of this, Jiyuxi hesitated for a moment.
But considering the other cousin’s elegant and reserved demeanor, maybe Cousin Shisong would be a better match for Jiaojiao?
Jiyuxi turned to look at Jiangshisong’s strikingly handsome profile and tentatively asked, “Cousin, have you been seeing anyone lately?”
Jiangshisong kept his eyes on the road, replying calmly, “No.”
Jiyuxi almost blurted out, “Let me introduce you to someone!”
But then he remembered his cousin’s personality—even toward him, a cousin, he was this cold. If he treated Jiaojiao the same way, wouldn’t that just be setting her up for misery?
Forget it, forget it. No need to rush this. Better think it through carefully.
Jiyuxi changed his words mid-sentence: “Cousin, is your company hiring illustrators? I have a friend who’s really good at drawing. She’s looking for a job recently, so I’m asking on her behalf.”
Only then did Jiangshisong glance at him, his eyebrow twitching. He knew Jiyuxi never visited without an agenda.
“You should ask Shiyang about that.”
“But Cousin Shiyang isn’t in City A right now, is he? My friend is in a hurry and can’t wait for him to come back.”
Jiyuxi started rambling: “Let me tell you, cousin, my friend is really pitiful. Her family went bankrupt, and now this helpless young girl is worrying about tuition. She’s been scrimping and saving so much that she’s lost weight. It’s a shame I only have 20,000 yuan left this month, otherwise I’d give her all my allowance.”
He sighed, his face full of sympathy and pity, and continued, “Next month, when I have more money, I’ll definitely transfer her more. She’s too thin—she needs to eat more and nourish herself.”
Jiangshisong’s brow furrowed slightly. He glanced at Jiyuxi discreetly. Why hadn’t he noticed before that this cousin of his was so naive?
For an ordinary person, 20,000 yuan would be enough to cover several months of meals.
So, had he just started his freshman year and already been scammed?
Hadn’t he downloaded the anti-fraud app?
Or was it simply because he was, after all, an innocent college student?Seeing Jiangshisong remain silent, Jiyuxi began acting cute to plead, “Cousin, please agree! I’ve already promised her. Your company’s mobile game is so popular, you must need a lot of illustrators, right? One more won’t make a difference. Please, cousin!”
Just as they arrived at the Jiang residence, Jiangshisong parked the car. Knowing Jiyuxi wouldn’t give up until he got his way, he casually agreed, “Tell her to go for an interview at the design department on Monday.”
“Thank you, cousin! Send my regards to Uncle and Aunt. Bye, cousin~”
Jiyuxi happily got out of the car and dashed off in a flash. As for mooching a meal—that was just talk.
………
Jiyuxi: [Jiaojiao, I’ve talked to my cousin. Are you free to go for the interview on Monday?]
Jiyuxi: [Oh, I haven’t told you yet—my cousin’s company is the one behind that super popular infinite flow mobile game!]
Shen Jiaojiao, who hadn’t been very interested in working before, suddenly perked up. Having inherited the original host’s memories and emotions, she knew the original host had also been playing this game.
And it was quite interesting.
So she replied: [Sure, Young Master Ji. I’m free. Could you please send me the company address? Thank you.]
Shen Jiaojiao’s extreme politeness made Jiyuxi feel a pang of sadness. Although the two weren’t close, she had once been such a proud young lady.
Seeing her like this now was truly heartbreaking.
After sending the address, Jiyuxi changed the subject: [No need to be so polite. Do you play games, Jiaojiao? Want to play for a bit?]
Shen Jiaojiao: [Sure.]
The two logged into their accounts. Shen Jiaojiao’s rank in Honor of Kings wasn’t high—she was Diamond.
Jiyuxi, on the other hand, was a King, so they couldn’t duo queue.
Jiyuxi: [Jiaojiao, wait two minutes. I’ll switch accounts.]
He quickly logged out of his own account and logged into Jiangshisong’s Honor of Kings account.
Jiangshisong didn’t play Honor of Kings much, so this account was mostly used by Jiyuxi occasionally. It was also Diamond rank.
Not long after, Shen Jiaojiao received a friend request in the game: [Fog. requests to add you as a friend.]
Shen Jiaojiao accepted, and the two quickly started a match.
She hadn’t played in a long time and wasn’t familiar with the new version, so she chose the mid-lane mage Wang Zhaojun.
Right after she picked, the player in third slot asked: [First slot, support?]
Shen Jiaojiao was taken aback and instinctively turned on her mic: “Isn’t Wang Zhaojun a mage?”
She had set it to team voice chat, so besides Jiyuxi, the other three teammates also heard her voice.
After a few seconds of silence, the third slot player said: [Damn, a girl with such a nice voice??!]
The fourth slot player chimed in: [Is that voice for real? Not faked, right?]
Third slot: [Are you stupid? How could anyone fake such a soft, sweet voice? Hehehe, girl, play however you want. I’ll carry you!]
Fourth slot: [Miss, just relax. I’m a national-level Luban—I’ll carry you!]
Jiyuxi felt a bit annoyed. These guys were already fawning over her just from hearing her voice. If they knew what Shen Jiaojiao looked like, wouldn’t they be drooling all over the screen?
He typed coldly: [I’m with the first slot.]
Hmph, Jiaojiao was his future cousin-in-law. No one else was allowed to get close.
The fifth slot player, who hadn’t spoken until then, typed a message after everyone had picked their heroes: [Jiao?]
Shen Jiaojiao’s in-game ID was “Nü Qiao.”
She glanced at the fifth slot’s ID—it looked familiar.
Shen Jiaojiao switched to her phone’s home screen and found someone with the same nickname in the green bubble app: Fan Qingzhou.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. Wasn’t this the male lead, Lujingshu?
What a coincidence.Just as the game entered the loading screen, Shen Jiaojiao ignored him.
After the game had been going on for a while, Lujingshu felt somewhat disappointed when he saw that Shen Jiaojiao still hadn’t replied to him.
She had posted photos of herself on social media before—she was a very cute girl, and the two of them occasionally chatted about this and that.
But this was the first time Lujingshu had heard Shen Jiaojiao’s voice, and for some reason, he felt that the owner of this voice wasn’t the cute type, even though it was soft and delicate.
Lost in thought about the photos, he was caught off guard and got solo-killed by an enemy player. Only after hearing his teammates’ complaints did he snap back to reality.
By then, the game was already nearing its end. Although it had only been a few minutes since the start, their side had collapsed too quickly.
Wang Zhaojun had been heavily nerfed and couldn’t hold her own against the enemy assassin, so the players on the third and fourth floors had both rushed to the middle lane to provide support.
Jiyuxi was almost amused by the absurdity of it all. As a jungler who hadn’t even had the chance to farm properly, he could only watch helplessly as all three lanes fell apart.
Twelve minutes in, with the shattering of the crystal,
the sound of “Defeat” echoed, marking the end of the match.
Shen Jiaojiao declined the friend requests from the third and fourth-floor players, then told Jiyuxi that she was going to eat and would play with him again in the evening.
As for the message Lujingshu had sent, she casually replied, using the same excuse of going to eat to brush him off.