Chapter 24 [Second Update] Selling...bromance? ...

Unlike his peers, You Xin was not obsessed with alcohol. By the time he was 20, he had only been truly drunk a handful of times.

As someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder related to cleanliness, he also dislikes taking care of intoxicated people, especially those who have poor drinking habits. He usually calls their closer friends or family members and then passes the buck to them.

You Xin set the central air conditioning to a constant 26°C, took off Nan Zhiyi's dirty coat, and called the room's dry cleaning service. She then took off his shoes, wiped his face, washed his hands, fed him some hot water, changed him into pajamas, and tucked him into bed—all in one smooth motion, taking less than twenty minutes.

Having been well taken care of, Nan Zhiyi stopped making a fuss and quietly curled up in the blankets.

He seemed a little sleepy, his eyelids were drooping, but at the same time he was trying his best to keep his eyes wide open, as if the words "I don't want to sleep now" were written all over his face.

You Xin stood by the bed, looking down at him.

“You should go to sleep,” he said.

Nan Zhiyi blinked, then shook her head: "I'm not sleepy."

"..."

"Let's have a chat."

This wasn't a good time to chat, but Nan Zhiyi stubbornly insisted and started the conversation: "Why did you say those things to You Qing? What did you say, 'I never need a world championship to prove the meaning of my life'?"

He seemed a little more awake, but You Xin felt he wasn't fully awake. Otherwise, he should have jumped out of bed right now instead of sitting here quietly talking to him.

After a moment's recollection, he realized that it was a direct quote from one of his text messages, which the other party had memorized word for word: "I was a little angry at the time, so I spoke rather impulsively."

Nan Zhiyi was quiet for a moment: "...So you're not going to retire, right?"

“No,” You Xin said.

There was a dent in the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, cautiously keeping a certain distance from Nan Zhiyi.

"I won't retire until I disband CG," he said. "Why would I retire when I'm playing so well?"

As if he knew exactly what to say to make Nan Zhiyi happy, You Xin laughed as soon as he heard it.

However, the smile lasted for less than two seconds before his lips fell again: "You're going to drive me crazy, you know that?"

"sorry."

Nan Zhiyi blinked again, feeling his vision blur, and murmured, "I'm such an idiot."

"You are not."

"I'm an idiot." Under the light, the gaze in those beautiful eyes gradually lost focus. "But you're a liar."

You Xin looked at him with amusement: "Why?"

"Ha!" Nan Zhiyi revealed a look of having caught someone in the act, and said with certainty, "You're a liar. You lied to me and said you would give me a birthday present, but you still haven't given it to me."

"..." You Xin's smile faded.

After a long silence, he said softly, "Yes, I'm a liar."

Nan Zhiyi didn't reply. He closed his eyes, as if he had finally succumbed to the alcohol and fallen asleep.

You Xin sat quietly on the edge of the bed for a while, then got up and turned off the overhead light, leaving only the reading lamp on the other side of the bed.

Then, he returned to the original spot and squatted down.

You Xin gazed at the sleeping man's features, almost tracing his outline with his eyes. He could imagine him smiling, his eyes crinkling, standing before everyone, receiving their love and blessings.

Then his heart turned cold again. You Xin reached out and grabbed Nan Zhiyi's hand, which was hanging outside the blanket.

He grasped the hand and slowly moved it closer, his brow furrowed, as if he felt utterly disgusted by his next move.

"I'm a liar," You Xin thought. "I'm a selfish person. I'm too greedy."

At the last moment, he barely turned his head, his lips brushing against the other person's hand. You Xin finally pressed his face against the back of that hand, paused for a moment, then got up and tucked the slightly cold hand back into the blanket.

-

You Xin met Nan Zhiyi for the second time at an internet cafe near the school.

At that time, his relationship with his family was neither good nor bad, and school was a place he could never go back to. As soon as he stepped into the school gate, he would be stared at by countless curious eyes and surrounded by many people eager to get You Qing's autograph. His classmates had even forgotten his name; they now referred to him as "You Qing's younger brother."

He found a spot in a corner, opened the ROE client, logged into his account "yux", queued up for a game on the Castle map, chose the Witch, and began a map-wide massacre.

One game ended, and the next one started immediately.

The numbers on the ladder rankings shrank little by little, but he refused to stop for even a second, as if if he paused for even a moment, he would fall from his lofty position and plummet into the cold reality...

"You're really good at playing the witch." A somewhat familiar voice came from the side. "I never expected you to play Eternity. Judging from your appearance, I thought you were one of those particularly well-behaved students."

You Xin stopped moving, but did not turn around.

He's in a very high rank, and he plays the most popular main DPS role in the game. Almost everyone who sees his ranked match in the internet cafe will come up to chat with him. Some ask him for friend slots, while others hope he'll play a game with them.

When the man saw that he was being ignored, he didn't "knowingly" leave. Instead, he unusually familiarly pulled out the seat next to him and sat down.

"If my teammates were as good as you, I wouldn't have to work so hard every game." His tone was troubled. "What's your rank now? Let me see... 325? That's really strange. I'm 174 now, how come I'm matched with so many bad players? Am I being punished by Elo?"

You Xin then turned his head and immediately met those bright and spirited eyes.

Years later, You Xin could still recall Nan Zhiyi's appearance back then. He sat in the sunlight, cupping his face in his hands, tilting his head to look at him, his eyes sparkling. He seemed to be from a completely different world.

“But you don’t seem to have eaten anything since this morning, do you?” Nan Zhiyi glanced at the time, then looked at him with concern. “How about I treat you to dinner? Do you like home-cooked meals? My mom just happened to make a lot.”

He pulled a huge lunchbox out of his bag with a clatter.

You Xin: "..."

You Xin: "Did your mother cook for you?"

“Yeah, she thinks it’s unhealthy for me to eat takeout.” Nan Zhiyi lifted a corner of the lid. “Let me see what’s on the menu today… scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shrimp with celery, boiled beef…”

"Does she know you went out?" Today seems to be Thursday, a weekday, right?

“She knows. I’ve been studying a bit too much these past few days, so I asked her to help me ask for leave. The computer at home isn’t powerful enough to play Eternal, so I just came out to play.” Nan Zhiyi said with a grin, her tone full of pride. “That’s just how my mom is, she’s so good to me—hey, I’ll go borrow their microwave to heat up some food.”

He skipped and hopped away, carrying the enormous lunchbox. You Xin sat in the corner, watching his retreating figure.

After several chance encounters, Nan Zhiyi seemed to have figured out You Xin's whereabouts and patterns.

Every time You Xin sits down, there is a chance that a Nan Zhiyi will immediately spawn around him.

Nan Zhiyi enjoys watching him play games. If audiences could be categorized into different tiers, Nan Zhiyi would definitely be among the top 1%—she never gives him pointers on his gameplay, never criticizes his decisions, but only praises him unconditionally. She praises him whether he wins or loses, and even if he makes a mistake and falls off a bridge, she still lavishes praise on his sense of humor.

The most common sentiment expressed was: "Honestly, I feel like you play many professions better than me."

You Xin categorized all of these as mindless self-praise.

Besides that, I sometimes go on the computer and play with him.

Nan Zhiyi played support. After a few games, You Xin noticed something: when duo-queuing with him, he hardly had to think. Because every decision Nan Zhiyi made was absolutely correct.

Finally, after Nan Zhiyi's persistent efforts to "chance encounter" You Xin, and after their sixth duo match, Nan Zhiyi successfully added You Xin's contact information.

"See you later!" He stood at the door, waving his phone excitedly at You Xin. "See you next week!!"

You Xin began to pay attention to the other person outside of the game.

First, there was the school, the place where the two of them interacted the most. He found that many people seemed to know the name "Nan Zhiyi," saying that he was a fairly famous senior in the third year of high school, with a good personality and good looks. Many boys and girls were happy to hang out with him, but there were no rumors of "so-and-so girl liking him" or "he liking so-and-so girl."

Nan Zhiyi's face is exquisitely beautiful. It seems that heaven favors him. His features are as if they have been meticulously sculpted, and his skin is the legendary cool white, which never gets tanned no matter how much sun he gets.

Yu Xin stood on the high terrace, looking down at the basketball court below. Nan Zhiyi's friends were trying to teach him to play basketball, but he was clumsy and every time he shot, he would hit one of them on the head instead of the rim.

The group exclaimed in unison, "Damn—" and then burst into laughter.

You Xin felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

You Xin's few friends mostly attended private schools or were sent abroad by their parents at a young age. In his classmates' eyes, he often appeared aloof and withdrawn. Although this was largely of his own making.

Therefore, he never imagined that he would be stopped by someone on the street for reasons other than You Qing.

"You, Xin—"

From afar, someone called his name from behind. You Xin turned around and saw Nan Zhiyi running happily towards him with her schoolbag on her back.

"Hurry up, hurry up." Nan Zhiyi urged softly as soon as he stopped, he was a little out of breath from running. "They want me to go back and play games with them, but when I see you I just want to play with you, so I lied to them and said that I had already made plans with you - okay? We did make plans last week."

You Xin's gaze passed over him and fell upon several classmates waiting for him behind him.

At this moment, Nan Zhiyi grabbed his sleeve and shook it symbolically: "Is it okay? Is it okay? Say something."

You Xin looked at Nan Zhiyi's friends, and then at the boy beside her who was eagerly waiting for her to agree.

"……good."

On that very day, in that single moment, the thought that would haunt him for countless days and nights from that moment on arose in his mind—

I wish they would all disappear.

-

When Nan Zhiyi woke up, her whole body ached.

He lay flat on the bed with his eyes closed, trying to recall whether he had gone to fight with someone, and why his hands and feet were so sore that he couldn't lift them, and even the slightest movement felt like it was going to kill him.

Nan Zhiyi could only move her body slowly, very slowly.

His bed was placed against the wall... As long as he could reach the wall, he could use the leverage to turn sideways and climb up...

Then he ran into a "wall".

When Nan Zhiyi realized that there was another person lying next to her, she was so frightened that she almost jumped out of her skin.

His imagination ran wild at an inappropriate time, and he instinctively covered his buttocks.

He looked up and met You Xin's eyes, who was clearly awakened by him and looked completely confused.

Nan Zhiyi: "…………"

You Xin: "..."

Nan Zhiyi jerked away from the other person as if she had been electrocuted, but the moment she moved, she cried out in pain.

"I...I...I..." He couldn't get a coherent "I" out for a long time, sitting there staring at the sleepy-eyed You Xin, "You...I...Ah!!!"

"..." You Xin rubbed his eyes. "What are you yelling for so early in the morning?"

Nan Zhiyi was certain her face was completely red: "Why are you here..."

You Xin also sat up. He leaned against the headboard and looked over with a leisurely air, appearing much calmer than Nan Zhiyi: "You were the one who held me back yesterday and wouldn't let me leave."

Nan Zhiyi's heart was screaming. He raised his hands to show his innocence: "I drank too much last night! I don't know anything! I didn't mean to!!!"

He tried desperately to recall, but all he could remember was collapsing onto the table, and Xiaoyu coming over to shake him worriedly, but he simply didn't have the strength to get up...

“Your friend called me,” You Xin said. “You’ve had too much to drink and I can’t leave you home alone. What if you throw up and choke?”

Nan Zhiyi: "..." This unlucky kid! Of all people to shake, he had to shake this big Buddha over here!

He struggled to get out of bed, found his outer clothes, grabbed them all and hugged them to his chest, then fled into the bathroom to change as if his life depended on it.

Ten minutes later, Nan Zhiyi finished washing up, dressed neatly, and slowly moved out of the bathroom.

You Xin had already changed his clothes and was now sitting at his desk looking through the menu.

Hearing Nan Zhiyi come out, he asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll have breakfast sent up from downstairs."

The unpleasantness between the two of them the day before had completely vanished because of the awkwardness this morning.

"..." Nan Zhiyi peeked at the menu, "What's on the menu?"

"Western style and Chinese style."

"Then, let's go with the Chinese style."

Nan Zhiyi sat back on the bed, found her phone, and started searching: Why does my whole body ache when I wake up?

Breakfast was served quickly. Nan Zhiyi had no appetite and silently finished her portion.

"I... I want to go home and take a shower..." He didn't dare say why he didn't want to shower here. "Well, thank you for taking care of me last night."

You Xin didn't stand on ceremony and simply hummed in response.

Nan Zhiyi walked slowly to the door, then suddenly stopped.

"Um," he turned around and sincerely asked the question that had been bothering him all morning, "we didn't... anything happen last night, right?"

"..." You Xin felt her head start to ache. "In your heart, am I some kind of beast, some kind of shameless person?"

Nan Zhiyi seemed to want to appear to trust the other person, but his relieved expression betrayed him.

"Oh, right," he said after thinking for a moment, before closing the door, "I'll go home and tidy up a bit, then... are you free? Let's talk then."

-

On his way home, Nan Zhiyi was completely in a daze. After fastening his seatbelt, he took out his phone and began mechanically scrolling through Weibo, forcing his brain to forget what had happened when he woke up that morning.

He scrolled through the screen absentmindedly until a Weibo post about mutual following was pushed to his profile.

[@WD.Pigeon: @ROE汤圆傻逼 // @天使意的毛线球: Regarding the content that went viral on the internet last night...]

Nan Zhiyi was taken aback.

He clicked on the original Weibo post of the assistant account "Angel's Yarn Ball" and found that Sister Li acted extremely quickly, having already posted a statement on the account indicating that the so-called three "charges" were all nonsense, that her side needed some time to collect evidence, and that she would take legal action against the rumor-mongers, hoping that the public would give them some more time.

The top-rated comment highlighted a key point in the statement: "They're suing for defamation? Looks like the studio really has a lot of nerve."

In addition, the repost section of this Weibo post was also particularly interesting.

[@陶星星星: I believe in Xiaoyi //@天使意的毛线球: Regarding last night...]

[@ROEMoon: Can some people please watch their mouths? It's like they ate shit. To hurl such vile insults over something so baseless, did they not have parents to teach them anything? They even hired a substitute player! Angel Yi solo-beats 99.999999% of the foul-mouthed people in the comments section [vomiting]. And @ROETangyuan is truly shameless to an extreme, a complete clown. //@AngelYi'sYarnBall: Regarding last night…]

@……

Nan Zhiyi watched for a while and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Then, he discovered that none of the accounts in the repost section who dared to speak out in support of him belonged to the Millennium Guild, which just happened to confirm what Xiaoyu had said last night.

Lord Qiu was naturally not among them.

However... as Nan Zhiyi flipped through the pages, she suddenly came across some strange content.

[@Meng宋蒙: I believe [clasped hands] //@天使意的毛线球: Regarding last night...]

Nan Zhiyi: "...?"

He clicked on the Weibo post, and the comments section was full of question marks, just like his.

[Wow, Meng is back from the dead! He hasn't posted on Weibo in two years!]

Is Meng making a comeback? I'll answer for my team first.

[Don't take the chicken feather, hyg shouldn't take it, okay? He was bad enough when he retired, and after two years of not playing, he'll probably struggle even to play in the secondary league. Does he think this is three years ago? Still got his touch?]

[Bro, I don't know why you retweeted this Weibo post, but please take my advice and delete it, okay? Don't retweet things that aren't settled yet. The other person is a streamer. Even if you've retired, it's best not to get involved in these things. Don't make your fans worry about you anymore.]

Nan Zhiyi couldn't help but glance at the IP address that sent the Weibo post.

City S.

He called Song Baiyu and said, "Why are you posting on Weibo using your brother's account?!"

It wasn't WD's training time, and no one was streaming in the training room right now, so Song Baiyu replied from his seat, "What are you doing! I'm just standing up for you! And you're yelling at me!"

Nan Zhiyi: "Why are you standing up for me when you're not training properly? You're playing against CG the day after tomorrow, and you're still standing up for me? Be careful you lose the match and get scolded to death for not training properly and causing trouble online."

"Wow, you actually still remember my schedule~" Song Baiyu said emotionally, "I take back what I said before, you still care about me."

Nan Zhiyi was met with his twisted logic: "Delete that repost. And delete your brother's too."

"I won't delete it! It's my Weibo, I'm in charge! Why would I delete it out of the blue? Does it make me look guilty?" Song Baiyu said confidently. "And don't worry about my brother. I asked him and he gave me permission before I used his account to post this! You should worry about yourself first! Look at the friends you have. Hey, they call you brother to your face, but behind your back they're plotting to kill you!"

"Bai Yu——"

"Alright, alright, stop trying to convince me. I retweeted the post because I wanted to. I'm willing to take the blame for you, and I'm willing to go to great lengths for my brothers, okay? So what if I get a few scoldings? Can they be as many as the scolding I got when I swam home from the round of 16 last year?"

“Besides,” Song Baiyu said, then paused abruptly, “this is far inferior to what you did for me back then.”

His tone suddenly turned serious: "If you hadn't given me your spot back then, I wouldn't have been the first choice for support in the draft, and I wouldn't have been able to get a starting position on WD's first team so easily... This position should have been yours."

Nan Zhiyi chuckled: "What do you mean 'give it to you'? Don't be so self-righteous. I gave up on my own, okay?"

“But I’ve always been really grateful to you,” Song Baiyu said. “I’m willing to take the blame for you. I’m a submissive, okay? Stop trying to persuade me.”

Nan Zhiyi paused for a moment, then said, "You've touched me a little..."

"What, are you going to cry?" Song Baiyu snorted twice. "Well, you're quite sexy."

Nan Zhiyi: "…………?"

“Oh right,” Song Baiyu suddenly said, “Speaking of sexy…”

The serious tone vanished, replaced by a gossipy one tinged with mischief: "I called you last night, several times, but you didn't answer. Guess who finally picked up? It was—"

With a "snap," Nan Zhiyi hung up the phone expressionlessly.

-

Nan Zhiyi went home and took a shower, feeling much more refreshed. While drying his hair, he checked the so-called "little drink" he had last night and found that it contained vodka, specifically designed to harm someone like him who was a casual drinker. He immediately blacklisted it.

After drying her hair, Nan Zhiyi lay back on the bed and hesitated for a while before sending You Xin a message: "I'm all better now. Where should we meet later?"

The reply came quickly: "I'm still in the hotel."

Nan Zhiyi inwardly felt a million times averse to this place, which filled him with embarrassing memories. But the two couldn't meet in any public place—the city was full of their fans, and they could be recognized anytime, anywhere. If their conversation were overheard, they would be doomed.

A perfectly normal conversation has been turned into something like a secret affair.

[Xiaoyi: Can I come to my house? Nobody's home.]

Nan Zhiyi only remembered that Daodao was still at home after she opened the door and let You Xin into the small garden.

He tensed up instantly, a change that didn't escape You Xin's notice: "What are you doing? I don't eat people."

At this moment, Nan Zhiyi would rather he were the one who ate people.

He settled You Xin in the living room, saying he'd make him a cup of tea, and then tiptoed downstairs to the study, silently praying that his bird wouldn't...

Then the two people inside the house heard a deafening "Gah!!!" from upstairs.

Nan Zhiyi: "…………"

Can we not?

When he chased after them, the living room on the first floor was already empty.

The door to the aviary on the second floor was open. Nan Zhiyi went in and saw that Daodao had flown from the perch onto You Xin's head, and the latter was trying to grab it off.

"Be careful, it might bite..." Nan Zhiyi said weakly.

You Xin was fearless. He grabbed the bird's wings and pulled it off his head, then examined it carefully in his palm.

Nan Zhiyi felt like he was being burned at the stake. After a long while, he heard You Xin say, "He Zhou said he entrusted someone else to raise, but it turns out he entrusted you."

Nan Zhiyi gave a weak "hmm".

You Xin: "I know you have a bird, but I didn't know it was this one. I've never seen it in your live stream."

Nan Zhiyi blurted out without thinking, "You still watch my live stream?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. Because You Xin replied casually, "Aren't you here to watch my match too?"

The two remained frozen in place.

One was poised and generous, the other harbored ulterior motives.

After a long while, Nan Zhiyi turned her gaze away: "I received a call from your friend that day. He said that Daodao was very depressed at home, and even though he hired a nanny to take care of it every day, it was no use... so I took it in and raised it."

This blue gold steel was a birthday gift for You Xin when he turned sixteen.

Nan Zhiyi remembers the day it was delivered; she was in You Xin's small house where he lived alone.

The parrot at that time still had gray downy feathers, but it was already quite big. The two of them studied the baby bird in the cardboard box for a long time, keeping it warm, feeding it, and setting an alarm clock to feed it milk every few hours. It would wake up in the middle of the night yawning and being woken up by the alarm clock... Uncle Wang offered to help, but it was unwilling. That's how they raised it, changing its diapers and diapers.

Later, when You Xin went to play professionally, his bird, along with him, was kicked out of the house. You Xin had no choice but to entrust it to one of his wealthy and idle young master friends.

Two and a half years later, Nan Zhiyi saw Daodao in Hezhou's garden and almost didn't recognize him.

At that time, it was terribly bald, with a large patch of feathers plucked out. Nan Zhiyi tenderly took it out of the cage, held it in her arms, and stroked its head. The parrot closed its eyes in contentment.

"I've asked so many people to take a look, but it's no use. They say parrots are stubborn and only recognize one owner," He Zhou said with a headache. "I heard it keep calling your name... something like 'Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi,' so I contacted you to see if you could keep it. If it's inconvenient for you, then forget it."

Nan Zhiyi carefully considered the situation in his mind. A year ago, he certainly wouldn't have been able to support them, because he was still living in his school dormitory. But now he's started blogging, and his income is decent enough to support him renting a larger apartment off-campus…

“It’s alright, let me take care of it,” he said to He Zhou. “But could you please… not tell You Xin? Just say that you gave it to another friend to take care of.”

He Zhou paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "What? Don't you want your ex-boyfriend to know you're still keeping your two little pets?"

"..." Nan Zhiyi gently stroked the bird's soft neck feathers and answered absentmindedly, "Maybe."

—Today, everything has finally been exposed.

Daodao affectionately nibbled on Youxin's finger with its beak. Nan Zhiyi watched this touching scene of "father and son recognizing each other" from the side, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

After a long while, You Xin put Daodao back on the bird stand, and Daodao reluctantly nibbled at his sleeve.

"Can I come to see it often in the future?" he asked.

This is practically like planting a time bomb in your house. But Nan Zhiyi couldn't possibly say no: "Of course you can, you're its owner."

You Xin said, "It's yours now. I just wanted to come and see it."

For some reason, Nan Zhiyi felt that continuing this topic would be dangerous.

He tried his best to steer the conversation back to the main topic of the day: "I mainly wanted to ask you... you said you wanted to participate in the Juxing Cup, what are you really thinking?"

"The transfer window is now closed," You Xin said. "No matter what I do, I won't be able to play until the Summer Split."

Nan Zhiyi tried to nip his idea in the bud: "But your contract is still with CG. The Juxing Cup is a tournament with prize money, you know? Your contract should have a clause stipulating that you can't participate in any tournaments with prize money, otherwise it would be a breach of contract."

You Xin said casually, "I'm not even going back to the team, do you think I'd care about this?"

Nan Zhiyi: "…………"

Nan Zhiyi: "The organizers will not agree."

“I have a solution,” You Xin said. “There was a clause in the contract I signed with CG about suspensions. If a player is suspended for two months or more during the contract period, all clauses in the contract will be automatically voided.”

Nan Zhiyi's inner alarm bells went off instantly: "You're not going to do something illegal or criminal, are you?!"

"What are you doing?" You Xin chuckled. "Do I look like an outlaw?"

"...Couldn't we have chosen a gentler approach? Why not go to court? Didn't you bring your brother's company's lawyer over last time...?"

“Going through legal channels takes too long; I can’t afford to wait.”

You Xin's point is actually quite valid. A civil lawsuit can sometimes drag on for two or three years without a final verdict. By then, the contract has long expired, and countless World Championships have already been played out—it's all too late.

Nan Zhiyi couldn't find the words to refute him.

He racked his brains and came up with his last feasible reason: "What about the school your father made you go to? Are you not going to go anymore? Or have you already finished it?"

"Not yet," You Xin said. "I skipped class."

"Tuition fees aren't cheap... Maybe we should go back to class?"

Nan Zhiyi patiently guided him.

You Xin said expressionlessly, "No. The money has already been wasted, we can't waste any more time."

Nan Zhiyi was so angry she almost laughed.

Why are all the people he met today so unreasonable?!

"Why are you making so many excuses to stop me, just because I have a professional player status?" You Xin didn't look at him. He casually stroked the parrot's feathers and said softly, "I just want to compete with you."

His tone softened. Nan Zhiyi's heart softened too.

Actually, perhaps... he should give You Xin such a chance.

Nan Zhiyi thought of the friends who rushed to speak up for him on Weibo. They were all so brave.

...Perhaps I should be braver.

"All right."

After Nan Zhiyi said those two words, You Xin's eyes visibly brightened.

“But…but.” He raised his hand, stopping the other person from saying what he was about to say, “There are still many problems to be solved.”

"To participate in the Juxing Cup, you need an account with over 500,000 followers on the platform, and your side of the game must be streamed live throughout the online competition. Your account is currently being controlled by CG, what should you do?"

You Xin thought for a moment and said, "I can just open another one."

"But there's only one week left before the registration deadline, is it too late?"

“Of course there’s enough time,” You Xin said slowly. “Actually, I have a way to reach that number of followers as soon as I start a live stream.”

"...Buy powder?"

You Xin: "Selling pornography."

Nan Zhiyi never imagined she would hear those two words from the other person's mouth.

"Selling...corruption?"

He repeated it with some difficulty.

"Let's play the BL card, you and me," You Xin said generously. "Is that not allowed? Didn't our interaction at the All-Star event go very well?"

Nan Zhiyi took a deep breath: "This isn't a question of whether it's possible or not..."

He felt his temples start to ache again. But You Xinfeng quickly changed the subject, escalating the situation in a few words: "Is it just me who can't do it this time? Didn't you and your friends always do this during your live streams?"

"What?!" Nan Zhiyi exclaimed incredulously. Who had he been engaging in BL (Boys' Love) behavior with during his livestream? "I didn't!!"

“You have,” You Xin said calmly. “You’ve also read the novels that you wrote.”

"Oh my god!" Nan Zhiyi was so shocked she was speechless. "You don't actually believe that, do you? I lost a match, and they forced me to read it! They said if I didn't read it, I was a sore loser!"

Besides, that was a live stream from a long time ago. He lost a PK and the dare he drew was to read fan fiction. He was a little embarrassed when he read the first one, but by the last one he was numb to it and all he felt was admiration for the fans' imagination.

Did You Xinlian watch all of his live streams back then?

“I… actually, this thing, selling bromance, yes, sometimes the company asks us to do this. It’s like… doing more joint promotions, and things like that.” Nan Zhiyi explained somewhat awkwardly, “They said if fans like to watch it, then they’ll broadcast this kind of content. But I don’t want to adjust the rhythm of my live streams, and I really don’t want to rely on this to gain fans, it just feels weird… so I refused.”

After listening, You Xin calmly thought about it for a while.

“You just don’t want to adjust your livestreaming pace,” he pointed out. “You don’t think that engaging in bromance with your friends will affect your relationship.”

Nan Zhiyi paused for a moment: "Of course." Aren't they all fake?

"So, this won't affect our relationship, right?" You Xin said, appearing completely at ease, as if discussing some technical issue. "Or is there something else in your mind? Something that makes you absolutely certain that you can't do this with me?"

This rhetorical question worked. After a long pause, Nan Zhiyi said dryly, "No."

You Xin smiled slightly. "Okay. It's settled then," he said cheerfully.

Nan Zhiyi: "..."

He looked up in despair: "Does it really have to be this way...?"

“But,” Nan Zhiyi felt her face must be contorted with pain, “you want me to do this? I don’t know how…”

When the word was mentioned, his mind went completely blank.

Selling bromance? With You Xin? How can he possibly sell that...?

Upon hearing this, You Xin said nonchalantly, "I can teach you."

“It’s simple.” He took a step closer to Nan Zhiyi without making a sound. “Just make others think that you and I are close enough and ambiguous enough.”

"Stretch out your hand. Raise it a little higher."

Nan Zhiyi reached out her hand with some doubt, but the next moment, she saw You Xin step forward, bend down slightly, and press her cheek directly against his palm.

The long hair at the back of his head slipped down with the movement. You Xin looked up and gazed at him through his palm: "Like this."

Nan Zhiyi almost gasped.

He quickly pulled his hand back, instinctively taking a step back, almost knocking over the bird stand behind him.

Then, realizing she had overreacted, she stammered, "That's...it's over?"

You Xin looked at him with a half-smile: "What else do you want? I can act it all out."

"No, no, that's not what I meant!!" Nan Zhiyi felt an uncontrollable heat rushing to her face. "Oh, right, that's right! I suddenly remembered that I just said I would make you tea... I need to go downstairs to get some tea leaves!!"

He left You Xin behind and turned to run frantically out the door.

You Xin stood there, put his hands back in his pockets, looked at the spot where he had left for a while, smiled silently after a moment, and followed him downstairs.

-----------------------

Author's Note: The contracts and clauses in this story are all made up by me and may not reflect reality. Please be gentle with your criticism.

I've updated 20,000 words and I'm exhausted. I have a backlog of drafts, but I have to keep revising them. [crying emoji]