Time slipped by, and three months had passed.
With Spring Festival drawing near, even the utility poles along the road were cheerfully hung with red lanterns one after another.
As usual, Nan Zhiyi received an invitation to the Stars year-end gala. He hadn’t wanted to go, but Sister Li, his manager, Zhang Li, insisted, saying a big boss would be there tonight. The man was interested in partnering with Stars on ROE-related content, and Nan Zhiyi, as a representative, absolutely had to attend.
On top of that, Sister Li had handed him a major assignment: get up on stage and sing a song.
Unable to hold out against her repeated pleading, Nan Zhiyi steeled himself and went up during the performance segment to sing an old song, going off-key four or five times along the way.
Because of the nature of the company, their gala performances were also livestreamed across the whole web in real time. As he set the mic down, Nan Zhiyi genuinely wanted to dig a hole on the spot and bury himself in it.
Still, he got a warm reception from the whole hall. Coming offstage, he was grabbed by a dozen-some streamers he didn’t know for photos, and walking around, he soon couldn’t find his original seat anymore.
In the end it was TaoXing who rescued him from the crowd and pulled him over to her table.
The people at this table were basically all ROE streamers, though smaller-scale ones. Nan Zhiyi looked around and, aside from TaoXing, recognized only Tangyuan, lean-faced, hair dyed blond, so he gave him a nod.
Since he didn’t know most of the people there, and his mood honestly wasn’t great, Nan Zhiyi sat down and started shoveling food, listening to the others chat.
When a bunch of gamers get together, there aren’t many topics to go around.
Soon enough, someone brought up the World Championship finals from three months ago.
“They were up 2–0, I really thought they had it.”
“Tell me about it. At three match points I ordered a barbecue delivery, by the time it arrived they were up by two, and I was halfway through my food when it got tied. Who could keep eating after that?”
Tangyuan chimed in at that point. “To be honest, mostly it’s because there was a mole.”
When he said it, everyone went blank for a second, then dissolved into giggles.
Among those present, aside from Nan Zhiyi, Tangyuan had the most fans.
“If you ask me, our Xiao You God’s problems are all because the league spoiled him rotten.” Seeing everyone laugh, Tangyuan looked very pleased with himself and held forth. “Look, he went head-to-head with his own boss, but turn around and CG is still CG. The league’s top team, that traffic’s right there, with him or without him, it’s all the same.”
Nan Zhiyi’s chopsticks stopped mid-reach.
After yux vanished into thin air, the scene’s self-appointed “experts” had sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain [1] popping up everywhere all at once jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2670423_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2670423_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, making videos, writing articles, going on at length about how harmful his very presence was to the whole CG team, saying he was arrogant and wouldn’t take advice, that he looked like the core but was really a cancer on the team.
Otherwise, why was it that with rookie xww swapped in, from the Spring Split’s start until now, the team’s results were not only stable, but the atmosphere had gotten better too?
But since when did Tangyuan become like this? Nan Zhiyi thought.
Back when they used to co-stream and watch matches, the man had always billed himself as yux’s “number one fan.”
“He’s just got that one pretty face, a pile of female fans cradling his stinky feet every day, and he actually thinks he’s somebody—”
Clang!
Suddenly, someone sitting across from Tangyuan slammed his bowl down hard on the table.
Tangyuan’s words cut off.
“Could you… watch what you say.” The person spoke with a frown, stammering a little, probably from sheer nerves. “yux never did anything to you, did he?”
The speaker was a pale, skinny, black-haired boy in glasses, who at first glance looked like he was still in high school.
Tangyuan blinked, then snorted out a laugh. “Aiyo, I forgot, we’ve got a big celebrity’s fan at our table.”
“Uh-oh, now I’m a little scared.” He clicked his tongue. “Bro, don’t go reporting me, I really don’t want to become Brother Qiu 2.0.”
This year Qiu Cheng hadn’t received an invitation, highly unusual for a blogger of his nearly-ten-million scale.
No need to guess why: in all likelihood, it was because he’d offended yux’s fans before.
At those words, the black-haired boy flushed bright red.
His hand on the table clenched into a fist, but everyone around was watching and laughing at him now, as if he were the one freak in the group.
Then someone beside Tangyuan spoke up: “Is there anything wrong with what he said?”
The table fell suddenly silent.
Nan Zhiyi had already set down his chopsticks. Today he was in casual clothes, no makeup, his short hair a little tousled on top, and sitting quietly in his seat he looked like a harmless little animal.
Even when he spoke, his tone was gentle.
He looked at Tangyuan. “We lost the finals because yux didn’t carry?”
The few streamers who’d been leading the laughter a moment ago now exchanged uneasy glances.
The black-haired boy unclenched his fist and shot Nan Zhiyi a grateful look.
Tangyuan was stunned too, clearly not expecting Nan Zhiyi to pull this.
After a beat, he suddenly burst out laughing, the picture of shamelessness. “Hahaha, all this fuss and it turns out to be one big misunderstanding! Brother Yi, those fans of yours stir up drama about you every day, I genuinely thought you and Xiao You God were on bad terms!”
“Come on, come on, everybody fill your glasses.” Tangyuan stood and called out to the others. “Brother Yi, let us toast you, please don’t take what I said just now to heart!”
Nan Zhiyi frowned. “No need, I don’t drink. And I didn’t take it to heart.”
Tangyuan was left hanging, stuck halfway.
“…Aiya, it’s the New Year, when it’s time to be merry you’ve got to be merry!” He had no choice but to brazen it out and keep playing it cool, swiftly filling his own glass. “Everyone, your brother here will down this one first!”
Nan Zhiyi sat in his seat, not moving.
Tangyuan tipped his head back and drained the glass, then stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to sit or stay standing.
He didn’t move, and Nan Zhiyi went on not moving either.
Finally.
“Xiao Yi?”
Someone patted him from behind, breaking the standoff.
Nan Zhiyi turned around. Sister Li had come at exactly the right moment, standing behind him with a wine glass. “Come with me for a sec.”
Tangyuan started, fixing a probing look on him.
Zhang Li led Nan Zhiyi away from the table.
“That was the one called Tangyuan just now, right, from Millennium Guild?” she asked in a low voice. “Did you two have a falling-out?”
Nan Zhiyi worked to shove Tangyuan’s words out of his mind. He smiled. “It’s fine, Sis. Just a little thing.”
“Good, as long as it’s fine.” Zhang Li nodded. “Come with me… the big boss asked for you by name.”
Zhang Li led him on a loop around the hall, finally stopping behind a man with long golden hair, dressed sharply in a suit.
She swiftly switched on a face full of blooming smiles and called out, “Young Master You.”
At that, the man turned around.
—Nan Zhiyi had no defense whatsoever.
The instant he saw the man’s face clearly, he felt as though someone had clubbed him hard over the head.
“This is Young Master You, You Qing. You must know him, right? The big celebrity.” Zhang Li introduced, all smiles. “CG’s new investor, last year he was even invited to be a guest caster at the matches.”
Then she turned and introduced to You Qing, “Young Master You, this is Xiao Yi.”
You Qing looked very interested in Nan Zhiyi, narrowing his long, fox-like eyes. “Hello.”
It was a long time before he got a somewhat stiff reply. “…Hello.”
You Qing smiled. “The kid looks a little scared of me.”
His tone was easygoing, but his too-sculpted features and sheer presence came off as aggressive, while at the same time, he happened to have a pair of very amorous eyes.
Nan Zhiyi had seen his fans flood comment sections in droves praising him online, captioning him “the nation’s most soulful eyes.”
But he’d always felt that anyone who truly knew You Qing would never associate him with the word “soulful.”
—You Qing: famous young, having acted at 15 in a film by a renowned director, and lately showing faint signs of crossing over into investment, having recently announced with great fanfare that he’d become a partner of CG’s Resurgence of Eternity division.
Across half a table, You Qing held his gaze. Nan Zhiyi didn’t look away, he bit his lip and said nothing.
Seeing this, Zhang Li, though she didn’t understand what was happening, instinctively defended the streamer in her charge. “The kid hasn’t seen much of the world, it’s his first time meeting someone he usually only sees on TV, of course he’s nervous.”
You Qing curved his lips, noncommittal.
He smiled at Zhang Li too. “I’d like to have a word with him alone. If you would.”
After Zhang Li left, You Qing took an empty glass from the table, poured most of it full of red wine, and held it out to Nan Zhiyi. “Want a drink?”
“No, thanks.”
The moment Zhang Li was gone, Nan Zhiyi dropped all pretense of expression.
His brows knit tight. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Don’t be so distant, it’s not like we’re strangers.” You Qing withdrew his hand on his own, raised the glass and took a light sip, seemingly not the least bit offended by his tone. “Seeing me, are you really not the slightest bit curious? No questions you want to ask me?”
“Such as?”
“Such as,” You Qing paused lightly, “where our player yux is now, what he’s doing, and why he suddenly disappeared for so long.”
Nan Zhiyi admitted the man had hooked his interest.
“…You know?”
“Of course I know. I’m half a boss at CG now, after all.” You Qing said. “He probably didn’t tell you, did he? No, I’m guessing he was too embarrassed to tell you.”
“—He’s planning to retire. Did you know that?”
The person in front of him kept opening and closing his mouth. Nan Zhiyi guessed he must have just told an enormous joke, because he found the corners of his own mouth twitching uncontrollably upward.
Retire? Who? yux?
…Wasn’t that a little too laughable?
“I knew you wouldn’t believe it.” You Qing studied his expression very carefully, then set the glass aside, took out his phone, and unlocked the screen. “You can see for yourself what he said.”
He laid the phone in front of Nan Zhiyi. On the screen was a chat log of text messages.
On the contact label, glaringly, were the words 【My Good Little Brother】.
—Actually, you’re right, I really don’t have any need to keep playing. There are plenty of paths in my life, not just the pro one.
—I never needed a world championship to prove the meaning of my life.
—Then congratulations. You’ve finally seen the truth of life.
—Don’t reply to me.
—You make me sick.
Nan Zhiyi couldn’t remember how he made it back around half the hall to his own seat. After he sat down he simply went blank. Someone seemed to be talking to him at some point, but he didn’t catch a single word.
After a while, he realized there was a wine bottle in front of him, most of it gone.
At some point TaoXing had come to sit beside him, watching him with concern. Several times she seemed about to say something, only to swallow it back.
The first thing Nan Zhiyi wanted to do after getting home was throw up.
He swayed up to the second floor, back to his room, rushed into the bathroom, hugged the toilet, and emptied his stomach clean.
The next day, he was woken by his alarm.
The aftermath of the hangover hit, his head was swollen and aching.
Bleary-eyed, Nan Zhiyi picked up his phone and looked.
【Alarm, 19:40, Stream.】
…He remembered getting home and going to bed around two in the morning. He’d actually slept straight through to the next evening?!
Nan Zhiyi sprang up, vowing in his heart never to drink recklessly again while forcing down his discomfort, washed up and got ready at top speed, and sat himself neatly in front of the study computer before eight.
First he clicked to start the stream.
But when he’d adjusted the camera and looked back up at the screen, he found the chat wasn’t making small talk and greeting him like usual.
【You’ve still got the nerve to stream?? So it really was just clout-chasing??】
【Someone played a fan for over two years and can’t keep the act up anymore? Showing his true face?】
【…The player’s just taking a break, and every kind of demon and ghost comes crawling out. You really think You-fans have no temper?】
【Xiao Yi, what’s actually going on? Can you explain it to us?】
Nan Zhiyi: “…???”
Bewildered, he instinctively opened his phone, only then finding five missed calls from “Sister Li,” sixteen missed calls from “Pigeon,” and several hundred explosive WeChat messages.
An ominous premonition rose in his heart.
Just then, the latest text notification popped up.
【Sister Li: Why are you streaming right now?????】
【Sister Li: End the stream first. We’ll talk after.】
Nan Zhiyi vaguely guessed at something. It took him three tries to tap Weibo open.
Before the trending page even loaded, he’d already seen his own name.
—And right beside it, the one name he least wanted to see alongside his own, glowing red, hung glaringly together for who knew how many times now.
#AngelYi yux#
…Nan Zhiyi truly couldn’t imagine what else in this world could possibly tie the two of them together again.
Surely it couldn’t be that yux, vanished for three months, had suddenly reappeared holding up a sign with the three big characters “AngelYi” on it?
Taking a deep breath, he clicked into the topic.
What met his eyes was, glaringly, a Weibo post that had already been reposted tens of thousands of times.
【@Esports Xiaoguai: A drunken tongue tells no lies? The Stars gala blew up! A streamer with tens of millions of fans flat-out called yux a dumbass! ……】
Nan Zhiyi was in no mood to read the rest of the text.
He simply put on his headphones and clicked straight into the video at the very bottom.
The filming angle was strange, the surroundings dim, but the person at the center of the frame was clearly recognizable: cream-colored short hair, a fluffy coat draped over him, obviously drunk, not facing the filmer but slumped sideways on the table, head cocked, staring blankly without moving.
It was himself.
The surroundings were noisy, many people talking, but their voices seemed to have been specially processed, carrying a strange electronic buzz.
“…I don’t think…”
“…yux? Him, he’s just a… hahahaha…”
Suddenly, as if catching some keyword in the conversation, Nan Zhiyi lifted his head.
“You Xin?” he said, thick with drunkenness. “Are you talking about You Xin?”
The surroundings went quiet for an instant. Nan Zhiyi was completely oblivious.
He suddenly let out a laugh. “You’re… so right, he’s just a, bad guy, idiot, mm… little bastard.”
As he spoke, the person in the frame seemed pierced by something, his emotions abruptly flaring up.
The hand propping up his cheek dropped and slapped loudly onto the tabletop, in a grave tone, enunciating each word, he said: “Big jerk.”
The video cut off abruptly.
Nan Zhiyi, outside the video: “………………”
His mind went utterly blank. A wave of heat spread uncontrollably and rapidly across his face.
What am I saying.
What did I… just say??
Not the faintest impression of any of it…
Lifting his head, he saw a screen full of 【???】【Was he just looking at Weibo?】【He blacked out drunk, didn’t he, only now realizing what he said?】【No but, what exactly are you blushing about??】
In an utter panic, Nan Zhiyi flung his phone aside, covered the camera, and cut off the stream as if fleeing for his life.
References[+]