The academic pressure in the second year of high school wasn’t that intense, so the students were allowed to go home for the weekend.
Although the Xie family hadn’t originally lived in Yancheng, it was a first-tier city where they already owned a villa in a high-end residential area in the city center.
When he got home, Xie Wenxing’s mother was chatting with her friends over tea in the courtyard gazebo.
A housekeeper spotted Xie Wenxing and smiled teasingly. “Little Xingxing is back! Your face is getting more and more delicate with each passing day!”
“Of course. Back in the day, Sister Lan was the school beauty. It’s all in the genes.”
The character “Lan” was part of Xie Wenxing’s mother’s name, so close acquaintances called her Sister Lan.
Xie Wenxing kept a polite distance as he greeted each of them, then turned to his mother. “Mom, I’ll head upstairs now.”
After he left, one of the ladies asked Mother Xie, “How old is your son? I know a few lovely girls. Want me to introduce someone?”
Mother Xie’s smile faded slightly. “Xingxing is still young. No rush.”
The others quickly chimed in, “Exactly, he hasn’t even taken the college entrance exam yet. At least wait until he’s an adult. Early relationships won’t do.”
The lady who had spoken quickly clarified, “Of course I know early relationships aren’t good. I was talking about the eldest son. He should be about to graduate from college, right? Finding a partner in today’s world isn’t easy. If you’re not careful, someone else snatches them up.”
Mother Xie just smiled. “The kids have their own thoughts. No need to rush.”
Seeing that Mother Xie wasn’t particularly interested, the topic quickly faded.
Before long, the ladies departed one by one.
The gentle smile on Mother Xie’s face slowly disappeared. She had aged gracefully, with smooth, firm skin that made her appear to be in her late twenties. Only the fine lines at the corners of her eyes hinted at the passage of time.
Once she was alone, she could no longer hide her feelings.
Her perfectly shaped eyebrows carried a faint trace of worry.
When it came to early relationships, she never worried about that. In fact, if Xingxing were to get into one, it might actually bring her some comfort.
She picked up her white jade teacup with her manicured hand and took a sip of Longjing tea, letting out a soft sigh.
When Xingxing was young, something happened that left him with PTSD from physical contact. Even touch from family members was unbearable, he could only tolerate being in relatively close proximity; otherwise, he would experience corresponding stress reactions.
Mother Xie often worried that Xingxing, having so little physical contact with his family, might not feel their love. Although she never showed it, this concern had always weighed on her.
Afraid that Xie Wenxing might overthink things, Mother Xie had only consulted some psychologists about what measures to take for this condition.
The doctors’ advice was to start with the smallest forms of contact and gradually work on desensitization, with the best candidates being people Xie Wenxing trusted and wanted to be close to.
When it came to Xie Wenxing’s issues, Mother Xie was always hesitant and uncertain, and to this day, she had yet to bring it up.
That evening, by the time Father Xie came home from work, Xie Wenxing’s older brother, Xie Wenliang, who was studying at a university in a neighboring province, had also just arrived.
At the dinner table, after several days apart, Mother Xie kept urging her sons to eat more. “You haven’t been home for days, you’ve both lost weight.”
Xie Wenliang was a bit amused. “Mom, it’s only been a few days. That’s a bit much.”
The moment he finished speaking, Mother Xie immediately shot him a glare. “What do you know?”
Xie Wenliang quickly surrendered. “Alright, alright, you’re right. I don’t know anything.”
Xie Wenxing couldn’t help but laugh. He picked up his spoon to scoop some soup, but as he pulled his hand back, he accidentally bumped into his brother’s arm as he was serving himself some food.
Clang!
Xie Wenxing abruptly jerked his hand back. Soup splashed across the table, and the spoon clattered down.
The table fell silent.
Xie Wenxing clenched his fists, trying to suppress the overwhelming, hair-raising sensation that coursed through him, and said apologetically, “Sorry.”
Xie Wenliang would never blame him. “It’s okay, it’s okay. That was my fault.”
Mother Xie quickly called for someone to bring a tablecloth and wipe the table clean. After that, dinner resumed. Mother Xie chatted with Xie’s father, and Xie Wenliang chimed in now and then.
Xie Wenxing occasionally nodded or shook his head. He slowly finished a bowl of rice, then set down his chopsticks. “I’m full.”
As they watched him head upstairs, the three of them exchanged worried glances.
Mother Xie had been keeping an eye on him and knew that aside from a little rice, he had barely eaten anything.
She turned to Xie Wenliang and said, “Go upstairs a bit later and talk with Xingxing.”
Xie Wenliang naturally didn’t object. The brothers were close, and he was also worried about his younger sibling.
Father Xie patted his wife’s hand soothingly. The couple exchanged a glance, their affection for each other evident.
Xie Wenxing’s room was the one with the best lighting in the entire villa, decorated in warm tones. Against the wall stood a two-meter-wide bed, piled high with all kinds of plush toys, some as big as a person, others no larger than a palm.
As soon as Xie Wenxing entered the room, he rushed to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. The nausea he had been suppressing for over ten minutes finally came pouring out.
Everything he had just eaten went straight into the toilet.
Once he was done, he disposed of the evidence with practiced ease.
He flushed the toilet, turned on the exhaust fan, and sprayed some perfume to clear the lingering smell in the air.
After finishing, he stood at the sink and splashed cold water on his face several times.
The boy in the mirror had slightly reddened eyes and rosy lips. He looked pitiful, the kind that made people want to tease him.
He had been close to Xu Huai’an earlier and had even bumped shoulders with him.
He had thought that, if not fully recovered, his condition had at least improved somewhat. But now he realized, he still felt like throwing up at the slightest touch.
Xie Wenxing stepped out of the bathroom, kicked off his shoes, and leaped onto the bed with a bounce.
He grabbed a large teddy bear, tugged at its paws, pulled its ears, and continued his thoughts.
Why was it okay when I touched Xu Huai’an?
He couldn’t figure out the answer, nor did he dwell on it for long.
Memories from his dream kept creeping into his mind. Biting his lip, he started pounding the teddy bear.
Then, he rolled over onto his back, pulling the bear into his arms and fiddling with its ears. Suddenly reminded of something, he touched his shoulder, his gaze growing distant as if lost in thought. His face flushed slightly, and he buried himself in the bear’s soft, plush belly.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
He got out of bed without putting on his shoes, rubbed his ears, and cracked the door open. Tilting his head, he asked, “Brother, what’s up?”
Outside stood Xie Wenliang, who waved his phone. “Want to play a game? A few rounds?”
Xie Wenxing’s eyes lit up. “Let’s do it!”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t played games in days. He hadn’t even read any novels or manga. It was like he had completely turned over a new leaf, a dried fish finally making its way back to the sea.
The two brothers settled into the two corners of the sofa by the window. As soon as Xie Wenxing logged in, someone messaged him—Song Yuan.
Song Yuan: You playing alone? Xie Wenxing knew what he was really asking. My brother’s playing too.
Song Yuan perked up.
Song Yuan: Awesome! Let’s team up then. I’ve got a classmate here too.
After Xie Wenxing checked with Xie Wenliang, two more people instantly joined their five-player team. That made four in total, just one more to go.
Song Yuan’s in-game name was “Big Bro Carry Me,” while the other classmate went by “Let Daddy Carry You.”
Xie Wenxing raised an eyebrow. Pretty cocky.
Just as they were about to start the game, “Let Daddy Carry You” posted in the team chat.
Let Daddy Carry You: I’ve got a jungler here.
Before the Xie brothers could respond, Song Yuan jumped at the chance.
Big Bro Carry Me: Invite invite invite!
Let Daddy Carry You: Alright.
While waiting, Xie Wenliang casually chatted with his brother.
“Getting used to the new school?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Everyone’s really easygoing.”
“That’s good.”
Meanwhile, on the other end, Zhou Yuan was privately messaging Xu Huai’an.
Let Daddy Carry You: Brother Huai, want to play a few rounds?
Xu Huai’an’s in-game name was “Stay Away From Me.” He was about to refuse when—
Let Daddy Carry You: Song Yuan’s playing too, you know, the one who sits in front of you.
Xu Huai’an deleted the words he had typed and started over.
Stay Away From Me: Just two rounds.
Xie Wenxing waited two minutes, and a new player joined the team. Their avatar was a pure white rabbit, ears perked high, clutching a carrot in its paws while nibbling on it, its gaze alert toward the camera.
Xie Wenxing tapped on the avatar. Kind of cute.
Among the five players, aside from Xie Wenxing and Song Yuan, who were both in the Diamond tier, the other three were all Master.
Xie Wenliang immediately hit start.
On the character selection screen, Xie Wenxing was in the third slot.
After the ban phase, their side banned Bai Li, Cai Wenji, and Garo; the opposing side banned Lan, Diao Chan, and Dun Shan, they moved on to picking heroes.
Both Xie Wenxing and Song Yuan were average players, doing better with mages and supports.
Song Yuan was first pick and chose the mid-lane mage, Lady Zhen.
That left Xie Wenxing to pick a support. He wanted to play Yao, but he knew some players didn’t like that. So he sent a message to check with his teammates.
Stars in the Sky: Is it okay if I play Yao?
Big Bro Carry Me (Song Yuan): Sure!
Stars in the Sky: I wasn’t asking you.
Let Daddy Carry You: Go ahead.
Stay Away From Me didn’t respond, so Xie Wenxing assumed he had no objections. With only three seconds left on the countdown, he confirmed his choice.
Apart from the two of them, Xie Wenliang took the side lane with Sun Ce, Let Daddy Carry You played the marksman Consort Yu, and Stay Away From Me chose Han Xin.
At the start, Xie Wenxing played it by the book, sticking with the marksman Consort Yu in the duo lane. Their opponents were the marksman Luban No. 7 and the support Da Qiao, who was quite skilled. Her crowd control predictions were accurate, and she kept pressing forward.
Their duo lane was gradually worn down and forced to retreat, but Luban No. 7 and Da Qiao refused to let up, chasing after them relentlessly, determined to secure first blood.
Xie Wenxing frowned.
As Yao, he had fallen behind and couldn’t escape.
His deer girl form was down to a few hundred health points. One more of Luban No. 7’s second skills, and he was done.
Just as Xie Wenxing resigned himself to death, Han Xin descended from the sky!
First Blood!
Stay Away From Me claimed first blood, and the game had only been running for a minute and a half.
Then, barely a few seconds later—
Double Kill!
Their jungler, Han Xin, had secured a double kill, taking down both marksman Luban No. 7 and support Da Qiao in quick succession.
After that, Han Xin cleared the minion wave without a backward glance and leaped away.
Xie Wenxing hurriedly retreated to his turret to recall.
Maybe it was because he had survived on a sliver of health, but his heart on the left side was beating a little faster.
“Nice!”
A male voice suddenly came through the speakers. It sounded familiar to Xie Wenxing. He glanced at the screen, it was Let Daddy Carry You, who had turned on voice chat.
It turned out Zhou Yuan found typing too troublesome and had just switched to voice chat, speaking as casually as ever. “Brother Huai, nice!”
Xie Wenxing felt as if a bell had rung in his head, leaving him momentarily dazed.
His Yao stopped halfway, lingering under the top lane’s second turret. He switched out of the game and opened Song Yuan’s chat on WeChat.
Xie Wenxing: Hey, do you know who “Let Daddy Carry You” is?
Song Yuan, who had just been killed by the opposing jungler, Gao Changgong, replied: That’s Zhou Yuan, the one sitting behind you.
The suspicion was confirmed. Xie Wenxing didn’t bother asking when the two had added each other. He switched back to the game, blinked, and diverted into the jungle instead.
Zhou Yuan muttered, “What’s going on?”
Xie Wenxing ignored him. Assuming he had turned off voice chat, Zhou Yuan typed instead.
Let Daddy Carry You (Consort Yu): ???
Xie Wenxing paid no attention to Consort Yu’s regroup signal. As soon as he hit level 4, he attached himself directly to Han Xin’s head.
I just think Han Xin is a really good player. Sticking with Han Xin will crush the enemy team. Yeah, that’s it.
A message popped up on the left side of the screen.
Let Daddy Carry You (Consort Yu): Yao, stick with me.
Xie Wenxing masked his guilt and pretended not to see it. He stayed attached to Han Xin, refreshing his shield as they roamed the enemy jungle, sending Gao Changgong, who had been in the middle of taking the red buff, straight back to base.
Five minutes into the game.
Xie Wenxing, following Stay Away From Me (Han Xin), dove straight under the turret for a kill, taking down the mid-lane first turret.
After that, it was like they had unlocked a cheat code.
After slaying the Lord, Han Xin cleared out both the red and blue buffs in the enemy jungle, leaving Gao Changgong with nothing to farm.
At the eight-minute mark, they pushed straight to the enemy’s high ground. The team pressed the advantage. In a decisive team fight, Han Xin took down the enemy mage and marksman before falling to Gao Changgong.
But Han Xin had quickly sold his items, bought a Resurrection Armor, and revived on the spot.
At that moment, Yao reattached herself, landed a control skill, and Han Xin took the opportunity to finish off Gao Changgong. By then, the enemy support and side laner had already recalled to heal.
Han Xin charged past the crystal turret for a kill, and Xie Wenxing quickly activated the interference skill.
Quadra Kill!
Penta Kill!
A pentakill in one go.
“Yes!”
Xie Wenxing slapped his thigh in excitement, as thrilled as if he had been the one to secure the pentakill.
After that clean sweep, they played two more rounds, and Xie Wenxing was carried straight to the Master rank.
Even after the games ended, Xie Wenxing’s excitement lingered.
Seeing that his younger brother was in a good mood, Xie Wenliang called him over to sit by the window. “Come, let’s chat for a bit.”
Xie Wenxing let out an “ah.” He had just sent a friend request to Stay Away From Me, he wondered if it would be accepted.
Although he couldn’t be entirely sure, Xie Wenxing had a strong feeling that Stay Away From Me was probably Xu Huai’an.
He had also added Zhou Yuan, intending to ask him to confirm.
Xie Wenliang made some casual conversation, then casually asked, “Is there someone you like at school?”
It was meant to be a throwaway question. He expected his younger brother to firmly deny it. But when no immediate answer came, he looked over, and saw that his brother’s face was slightly flushed, his gaze flickering.
“I don’t know if it’s liking someone… but there’s this person I can’t stop thinking about.”