Chapter 8

The night grew darker earlier and earlier. By the time they left the cafeteria, a sprinkling of stars was already visible in the sky.

After Yan Hao stormed off in a fit of rage, Lin Yinian still hadn’t stopped laughing.

Yi Chen glanced at him. “That funny, huh?”

Lin Yinian nodded. “Zhong Yin is quite an interesting person.”

“Not bad, not a pushover.”

Yi Chen said lazily, then suddenly heard the person beside him say, “If I get the chance, I’d actually like to get to know her.”

Yi Chen didn’t catch on immediately. “What do you mean?”

“Literally what I said.”

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Why do you want to get to know her?”

“To be friends,” Lin Yinian patted his shoulder. “Next time, we can invite her out and get to know each other.”

“Am I your wish-granting well or something?” Yi Chen shrugged off his hand halfheartedly. “I’m not close to her.”

Lin Yinian gave up. “Alright then.”

“Besides,” Yi Chen stopped again, his expression odd, “she’s not given up on me yet. If she knows you, how can I get away from all this later?”

Lin Yinian found it inexplicable. “You’re thinking way too much.”

Around seven o’clock, Zhong Yin returned to the dorm. As soon as she opened the door, Guo Tao bounced over and hugged her excitedly. “This is awesome! After today, Yan Hao is the biggest joke in the whole school!”

“How did you come up with that move? So vicious! Not a single dirty word, yet you insulted him so foully! Posting it on the forum and leaving a cyber record—totally broke his defense!”

Zhong Yin curled her lips. “He deserves it.”

At this hour, only Guo Tao was still in the dorm. She pointed to Shi An’an’s desk. “Corn is warming in An’an’s little pot for you. It should still be hot, hurry and eat.”

Zhong Yin rubbed her head. “Thanks, Taozi~”

She stretched lazily, exhausted from the whole day’s hustle, finally able to sit down and rest.

Holding corn in one hand, she flipped open her phone and scrolled through WeChat.

She opened Yi Chen’s chat window, typed a message, then deleted it after a while.

Repeated this several times.

Sigh.

Being friends with Yi Chen was already a hellishly difficult task.

In the end, Zhong Yin didn’t want to make things awkward for herself, so she exited the chat.

“What’s with the sigh?” Guo Tao was playing games but could still hear her exhaling.

Zhong Yin bit into her corn, frustrated. “Nothing.”

“Hey! That idiot just stole my kill again!” Guo Tao cursed, taking off her headphones. “No more, I’m gonna have a stroke if I keep playing.”

“Yin Yin, next round you play with me.” She whined.

Guo Tao was playing the popular game “Peace Elite”. Zhong Yin had been busy lately and hadn’t had time to play. Now, with nothing to do, she said, “I’ll log in.”

“Yay, carry me to a higher rank!” Guo Tao excitedly said, “Wait a bit, this round’s almost over.”

“No rush.” Zhong Yin’s game was still loading as she got up to fetch her headphones. By the time she sat back down, the game had logged in.

While waiting for Guo Tao, she idly browsed the game interface and changed clothes.

There were still some friend requests from before. After clearing them all with one tap, she suddenly paused, looking at the friend list—

Yi Chen? He’s playing this game too?

“I’m ready, invite me.” Guo Tao held up her phone behind her. “What are you looking at?”

Zhong Yin’s finger hovered over Yi Chen’s avatar. “Just making sure I’m not seeing things.”

“Who’s that?” Guo Tao leaned over.

“Yi Chen.”

“What a coincidence.” Guo Tao was quick and sent a game invite immediately.

“Hey!” Zhong Yin was startled.

“Invite him to play.”

Zhong Yin was embarrassed. “He definitely won’t accept.”

“Who says?” Guo Tao pointed at the screen. “He already joined.”

Zhong Yin stared wide-eyed, stunned by Yi Chen’s unusual behavior.

“Come on, pull me in! You two are both high rank, carry me, please!”

She absentmindedly invited Guo Tao, only to see Yi Chen bring someone else in too.

Zhong Yin typed: [Shall I start?]

Yi Chen: [Yeah]

She chose the island map and, as captain, asked: [Can we drop at N Harbor?]

Yi Chen: [Okay]

Guo Tao glanced at Zhong Yin. “Isn’t Yi Chen pretty easy to talk to?”

Zhong Yin looked at his account again. It was definitely Yi Chen’s. His game account was tied to his WeChat and wouldn’t be lent out easily.

She guessed, “Maybe he’s in a good mood today.”

—

The plane approached N Harbor. Guo Tao turned on her mic. “Can I speak? I’m on.”

The ID Yi Chen invited was “Zhen Shanhuhu” (Tiger of the Mountain), with a somewhat youthful voice saying, “Miss, your voice is so nice.”

Guo Tao turned off her mic and asked Zhong Yin, “Who is this?”

Zhong Yin shook her head. “Don’t know.”

She quickly refocused on the game and opened her mic. “Ready to jump.”

“Sis, your voice is really nice too.”

Zhong Yin stifled a smile. “Thanks.”

Guo Tao rolled her eyes. “Are you flirting with everyone you meet?”

“I’m just speaking the truth.”

Guo Tao asked the mysterious voice, “Are you Yi Chen’s friend?”

“Yi Chen is my brother.”

Guo Tao was suspicious. “Are you an adult?”

“...Yes!”

“Who are you kidding? Minors can’t play this game.”

“Though I’m not an adult, I’m already in college!”

“Oh, you’re a prodigy.”

“Watch out, someone’s at the lower left.” As soon as she landed, Zhong Yin hurried to loot weapons, but luck was against her; after a while, she only had a submachine gun.

N Harbor had the most players, and soon gunfire erupted all around.

She asked, “Anyone got weapons?”

But Guo Tao and Zhen Shanhuhu were already being shot at and screaming. Just when Zhong Yin was losing hope, Yi Chen marked a spot for her.

Crouching forward, she saw Yi Chen had marked an M4 with a red dot sight.

He only had a Uzi himself, so Zhong Yin hesitated a moment but still picked up the M4.

Maybe guys tend to “carry girls” when playing games?

“Enemies incoming.” Zhong Yin heard footsteps in her headset and shifted her view left and right.

Zhen Shanhuhu: “I’m coming, don’t be scared!”

Unfortunately, his bravado lasted only a second before he was knocked down. “Help me! Help!”

Guo Tao sighed. “Don’t be a moving target!”

“Taozi, stay put. That team’s lying in wait.” Zhong Yin jumped onto a container and, aiming at a distance, quickly steadied her recoil and took two headshots.

The enemy fired back quickly, so Zhong Yin ducked down. Her health was low and she badly needed meds when Yi Chen tossed her a first-aid kit.

Zhong Yin was stunned. “Thanks.”

While she healed, gunfire sounded again as Yi Chen cleared the remaining enemies.

“Taozi, go help Zhen Shanhuhu.” She was about to finish off a target, but Yi Chen beat her to it. Zhong Yin groaned, “Stop stealing my kills.”

The teammate aiming to shoot paused and put down his weapon.

Zhong Yin was genuinely touched.

No matter who you are, don’t leave Yi Chen’s side, okay?

She took the kills without guilt and, while looting, returned the favor by giving him an AKW.

Though Guo Tao and Zhen Shanhuhu muddled through, the coordination between Zhong Yin and Yi Chen was surprisingly seamless.

He played steadily, assessed situations carefully, never reckless, and most importantly: he didn’t steal her kills.

They won the round without question, and Zhong Yin was MVP.

At the end, she couldn’t help but ask, “Yi Chen, you’re in a good mood today?”

Zhen Shanhuhu suddenly realized, “Yeah, bro, you didn’t call me trash this time! Were you possessed?”

The usually silent “Yi Chen” finally spoke into the mic.

But the often lazy, sleepy voice was gone, replaced by a clear, gentle male voice.

“Sorry for not telling you earlier, didn’t want you to mind. Yi Chen went to take a shower. I’m his roommate, playing this round for him.”

“Whoa.” Guo Tao couldn’t hold back. When she realized, she quickly covered her mouth.

Lin Yinian didn’t catch that. “Hmm?”

Guo Tao: “So you’re... Lin Yinian?”

The voice hesitated. “Yeah, do you know me?”

On the other end, Guo Tao shook Zhong Yin’s arm frantically, silently screaming.

At that moment, the usually quiet Zhen Shanhuhu burst out, “My brother’s a liar! I want my money back!”

Guo Tao: “What money?”

Zhen Shanhuhu whined, “Otherwise, why would he play mobile games with me? I bribed him! One hundred per game.”

Guo Tao was shocked. “One hundred per game? You should’ve asked me!”

Zhen Shanhuhu muttered, “But you’re as bad as me.”

“...” Guo Tao: “You’re clearly worse! Who died first just now?”

The two argued loudly over the mic.

Amid the chaos, Zhong Yin suddenly heard someone call her name: “Zhong Yin, you still there?”

She rubbed her fingers, stiff and numb. “I’m here.”

—

“You’re not upset, right?”

“No, I’m not.” Zhong Yin answered nervously.

Lin Yinian seemed to smile. “Good.”

They fell silent over the connection.

At that moment, a different voice came through—Yi Chen was back. “Who were you talking to?”

Lin Yinian changed the subject. “Just helped you finish a round.”

Yi Chen chuckled. “That guy’s pretty bad, huh?”

On this side, Zhen Shanhuhu shouted, “I heard that! I heard everything!”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll play a few more rounds with him.”

Lin Yinian responded with a hum and said into the mic, “Goodbye.”

Zhong Yin’s eyelashes fluttered; her fingers lingered reluctantly, softly saying goodbye in her heart.

Yi Chen took the phone, put on his headset, and glanced at the screen. A new game had started. He saw two unknown IDs in the top left and, with mic off, asked Lin Yinian, “Who are these two?”

Lin Yinian raised an eyebrow. “Your friends.”

Yi Chen nonchalantly said “Oh” then turned on the mic, commanding, “Drop at residential buildings.”

“Residential buildings again…” Zhen Shanhuhu said, “We just dropped at N Harbor, where there’s tons of loot.”

“And then got wiped out?”

Guo Tao snorted and mouthed to Zhong Yin, “This is the real Yi Chen, the ‘boss’.”

Zhong Yin still felt out of it, gave a quick smile, and kept her head down watching the screen.

Yi Chen jumped to the residential buildings. Zhong Yin didn’t argue.

There were just enough people—not too many, not too few—and accordingly fewer top-tier weapons.

The only M762 was snatched up by Yi Chen just a second before Zhong Yin arrived.

She had empty hands. He brushed past her shoulder and walked off without looking back.

Zhong Yin: “...”

After looting, Yi Chen drove the group away.

Spotting a squad, Yi Chen ordered, “Attack, quickly.”

Zhong Yin was the first to aim, steadying her recoil to take a clean headshot.

Zhen Shanhuhu exclaimed, “Sis, your skills are so cool!”

Yi Chen finally gave a glance and a smirk, commanding, “Get out of the vehicle, wipe them out.”

Zhen Shanhuhu cheered, “Charge!”

But he immediately became a moving target and went down first. Yi Chen clicked his tongue. “Smoke first, then hide.”

“I’m telling you to throw the smoke!” Yi Chen raised his voice.

Still, Zhen Shanhuhu was too slow once more and was shot again, heroically going down.

Yi Chen sighed deeply.

Zhen Shanhuhu sulked, “Bro, maybe your roommate should play. You’re too fierce, I don’t even know how to react.”

Yi Chen lobbed a grenade onto his box and sneered, “If you’re bad, practice more.”

He charged ahead; Zhong Yin followed up with shots.

Together, they swiftly took down the squad.

Zhong Yin was about to check the results, but Yi Chen beat her to it, blasting four kills in one spray with the M762.

“Wow, you didn’t leave me a single kill.” Guo Tao clicked her tongue, impressed.

Zhong Yin, who had kept quiet all game, finally opened her mic: “Yi Chen, you’re going too far.”

Yi Chen’s finger slipped; a stray shot fired.

He licked his lips and enunciated clearly: “Zhong... Yin?”

Zhong Yin was busy looting, ignoring him.

Zhen Shanhuhu came over, “Bro, is this sister your classmate?”

Yi Chen snapped, “What’s it to you?”

Zhen Shanhuhu grumbled, “Hmph, I’m never asking you again. Don’t think you can make extra money off me.”

“Suit yourself.” Yi Chen ignored him, playing harder, killing nearly everyone he saw, never letting Zhong Yin get a kill.

Guo Tao trailed behind, full of energy. “Still feels great to follow Yi Chen and win! He’s too strong.”

Zhong Yin was miserable. He was having fun; she wasn’t!

Two tigers can’t share one mountain. With Lin Yinian, he calmly played support while she slayed the whole match.

With Yi Chen, she was completely crushed.

Zhong Yin muttered, “Lin Yinian’s better. This game, I just wanted to shoot my teammate.”

She forgot her mic was on. Her words went straight to the other side.

The air froze for a few seconds.

A cold laugh came through: “Looks like playing with me made you suffer.”

“Then go play with him.”