Chapter 3 The stage lights were a bit dazzling...

The stage lights were a bit dazzling. Zhao Zhinian's makeup was exquisite, and her voice came through the microphone with a professional brightness. Zhou Zekai looked at her and suddenly felt that the awkwardness of the previous half hour had disappeared. Even her small gesture of deliberately avoiding his gaze made him feel inexplicably good.

...

"Captain Zhou, on behalf of all the female fans, I have a slightly gossipy question: Does Captain Zhou have a girlfriend?"

Zhou Zekai glanced at Zhao Zhinian, then turned back to the camera and smiled shyly: "No."

"I'm sure the moment Captain Zhou's answer came out, the fans' comments section was flooded with messages. Thank you, Captain Zhou, for giving us female fans a chance to dream." Zhao Zhinian deliberately joked, but Zhou Zekai could tell that her words were clearly very polite.

"Why are all the questions so gossipy? Ugh, I'm almost embarrassed to ask. I feel like one of those aunts and uncles during Chinese New Year. Come on, Captain Zhou, have you ever been in a relationship? Ever confessed your feelings? I'm sure everyone knows the answers, and I'm sure it'll be the same old questions again. The production team didn't seem to put much thought into this script." Zhao Zhinian knew her old classmate was a man of few words, so she tried to guide the conversation and get through the questions quickly.

“We’ve never dated.” Zhou Zekai paused, his gaze gently falling on her face. “I have confessed my feelings.”

Zhao Zhinian was clearly stunned for two seconds, and her professional smile almost faltered: "This is really big news!" She quickly composed herself, but her tone revealed a hint of panic, "I didn't expect that Captain Zhou would have a history of confessing his feelings. The audience is really lucky to be here today, as they've learned a secret."

She took a deep breath, trying to skip the topic: "I bet a lot of fans are heartbroken right now. Our Glory God actually confessed to someone! But let's calm down and move on to the next segment—"

Zhou Zekai suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the teleprompter in the distance: "There are still problems on it."

Zhao Zhinian was completely stunned. Of course, she knew there was still a problem with the teleprompter, probably added by the production team at the last minute. She had originally intended to pretend she hadn't seen it and let him off the hook, but this guy actually jumped out on his own! She inwardly facepalmed. When did Zhou Zekai become so "honest"? He even took the initiative to answer questions.

"Captain Zhou is such an honest man with exceptional eyesight. Is this the vision of a top gun player?" She chuckled dryly and let the camera zoom in on the teleprompter—"Could you tell me more about your confession experience?"

"It seems you're really looking forward to answering this question, so please go ahead and tell us. This is an exclusive sharing of Captain Zhou's confession experience, so everyone listen carefully."

“I confessed my feelings online,” Zhou Zekai said calmly, “but she asked me if my account had been hacked.”

Zhao Zhinian subconsciously repeated the sentence, then quickly feigned surprise and counted the words: "Wow! Captain Zhou's sentence actually has more than ten words! I remember there's a challenge online, 'Which reporter can get Zhou Zekai to say ten words in one breath?' I think I can take on that challenge. And then, Captain Zhou?"

She asked... "Is it really you?"

"Haha, this girl probably doesn't quite believe you'll confess your feelings," Zhao Zhinian said with a slightly forced laugh.

"I like her." Zhou Zekai's voice, clear through the microphone, silenced the room for a moment.

Zhao Zhinian coughed lightly, feeling her cheeks burning, but her instinct as a host still made her continue: "I didn't expect Captain Zhou to be so straightforward!"

"She went abroad."

"Ah... what a sad story." Zhao Zhinian quickly interrupted Zhou Zekai, who was about to continue, "I didn't expect to hear such a 'wonderful' confession from Captain Zhou... Samsara is already our new champion, so I wish you success in both your career and love life! May you be successful on both the field and in love! Time is limited, so let's move on to the next segment!"

Zhao Zhinian had only one thought in her mind: the talkative Zhou Zekai was more deadly than the silent one.

Sure enough, before the show even ended, "Zhou Zekai's confession" became a trending topic. A bunch of fans expressed their sympathy for their star player in the discussion, while many others were busy speculating about who Zhou Zekai's confession was for. The first names that came to mind were female professional players like Su Mucheng and Chu Yunxiu. Fortunately, Zhou Zekai said, "She went abroad," which quickly cleared the female players of suspicion and prevented them from being bothered by fans too much.

Meanwhile, a large number of new memes have also emerged: "Zhou Zekai's aggrieved expression.jpg", "Zhou Zekai's confession.jpg". Some fans even photoshopped an image of Zhou Zekai with Er Kang's hand as a meme: "Wait! It's me; wait! My account wasn't hacked."

After the show ended, Zhao Zhinian was still a little absent-minded while packing her things. Her senior colleague thought that she was feeling frustrated as a new host, having interviewed Zhou Zekai on her first try, so he comforted her: "Zhou Zekai is known for being difficult to interview. You've done a great job by digging up such a big story. The number of viewers watching online soared in the second half!"

She nodded with a wry smile, but her mind was a jumbled mess.

At 10 p.m., Zhao Zhinian got off work and had just arrived downstairs when she saw a man wearing sunglasses and a hat, fully armed, standing in the shadows, staring at her without saying a word. Zhao Zhinian was so frightened that she almost called the police until she recognized him as Zhou Zekai.

The two looked at each other, both feeling a bit awkward. The company entrance was clearly not a good place to catch up, and most of the nearby shops were closed. In the end, they went to a nearby 24-hour McDonald's.

It was getting late, and there weren't many people in the store. Zhao Zhinian quickly stopped Zhou Zekai from buying anything, choosing a secluded corner. His "That Big Cylinder" advertisement was still playing on the advertising screen.

"I'm hungry." Zhou Zekai still felt a bit aggrieved; recording a show all night was more tiring than playing Honor of Kings all night.

Zhao Zhinian took out her phone from her bag: "I'll go buy it. You're too famous. What do you want to eat?"

Seeing her holding her phone, how could he let the girl he liked buy him something! Zhou Zekai quickly took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her: "It's on me, the payment password is..."

"It's just a McDonald's meal." Zhao Zhinian quickly waved her hand, interrupting Zhou Zekai's impulsive attempt to reveal his payment password. Seeing that Zhou Zekai still wanted to insist, she quickly added, "You can treat me next time."

Zhou Zekai's eyes lit up instantly, and he obediently rattled off a list of food names.

An awkward silence hung in the air at the dinner table. Zhao Zhinian, true to her profession as host, racked her brains for a topic, finally stammering, "You today..."

Seeing her like this, Zhou Zekai suddenly felt much better. He looked up at her and smiled, his eyes shining brightly under the light: "You're serious about what you're saying."

Zhao Zhinian didn't expect him to respond so quickly, and she quickly lowered her head, feeling her cheeks burning: "Oh...oh."

"Zhao Zhinian".

"Huh? Yes!" Zhao Zhinian answered subconsciously in a state of tension, feeling like she was about to be called out by the teacher for daydreaming in class.

Zhou Zekai couldn't help but chuckle, "I'm very happy."

"Huh?" You're not happy to see me act so stupid, are you? I never thought Zhou Zekai was so cunning before. Zhao Zhinian looked up at Zhou Zekai with a blank expression.

"You're back." Zhou Zekai pursed his lips, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and smiled: "I'm very happy."

Zhao Zhinian was hit hard by the straight ball and bled profusely. Zhou Zekai's style is completely different from when he was in high school. He used to be a "shy and poor student", how come he is so direct now?

Zhao Zhinian's proud hosting skills were completely wasted. She didn't know what to say, but she felt she had to say something. Letting Zhou Zekai take the initiative felt like a very dangerous thing, as if she was being targeted by a Barrett sniper rifle and about to be shot in the head: "I feel like you've changed a lot. Before, you were always sleeping and didn't care about anything."

“Yes.” Zhou Zekai nodded, his eyes gentle.

Zhao Zhinian finally found a safe topic: "I admired you a lot back then. You were so good at math, and you were a really great person too."

"Glory?" Zhou Zekai tilted his head, a hint of doubt on his face. Zhao Zhinian thought he was amazing, was he referring to Glory?

Zhao Zhinian shook her head. "Do you remember that math homework assignment? It was a multiple-choice question. The teacher asked us to write out the specific steps. The steps were complicated. I wrote a whole page. Your math homework only copied the question and wrote an option, followed by a sentence saying 'Choose B without explanation.' The teacher didn't even criticize you. She just gave you a checkmark. I thought you were amazing at the time."

Recalling this old story, Zhou Zekai suddenly felt a little embarrassed. At that time, he was busy playing Glory and basically just went through the motions with his homework. Now that Zhao Zhinian was praising him with such admiration, he felt uncomfortable instead.

"And another time, do you remember? The teacher asked you to come up to the podium to explain a problem and asked you why that option was wrong. I remember you glanced at it and said it was common sense. I really thought you were amazing at the time, unlike us mere mortals. We play games and sleep all day, yet we still get 140+ on math tests. You can answer all the questions I ask you. It's just outrageous..." Zhao Zhinian got more and more excited as she spoke.

Zhou Zekai suddenly interrupted softly: "I have been studying math diligently... so I can explain the problems to you."

Zhao Zhinian fell silent instantly.

So the Gun King is ready to headshot with a Barrett sniper rifle at any moment. The time she had to talk to him earlier must have been because his skills were on cooldown. He's completely different from the silent Zhou Zekai from high school. The current Gun King is incredibly agile and gets headshots every time.

She was still dizzy even after Zhou Zekai put her in a taxi home. The world had changed so fast, and Zhou Zekai's behavior was completely off.

The words "Zhou Zekai," "confessing," "I like her," and "to explain the problem to you" flashed through her mind like bullet comments, playing on a loop.

The heat on Zhao Zhinian's cheeks lingered, and she even had the illusion that the driver's gaze at her in the rearview mirror held a hint of inquisitive amusement.

She suddenly pressed the back of her hand against her cheek, trying to cool herself down physically.

When Zhao Zhinian got home and saw Zhou Zekai's caller ID, she realized that she had exchanged phone numbers with him in her dazed state. She hurriedly pressed the answer button and said, "Hello."

"Are you home?" His voice was exceptionally gentle through the receiver.

"kindness."

Go to sleep early, goodnight.

"good evening."

After hanging up the phone, a new friend notification immediately popped up on my WeChat – Zhou Zekai has requested to add me as a friend.

Yes, Gun King is indeed incredibly proactive.

Zhao Zhinian collapsed onto the bed in frustration, feeling like today had been a dream: she had temporarily filled in for a host of an interview with Glory, encountered her ex-boyfriend's confession, had her secrets exposed on the show, and was bombarded with direct attacks off-screen.

The current Zhou Zekai... is like a completely different person, the contrast is so great that it almost makes her CPU burn out.

She still thinks Zhou Zekai from high school, who only slept, played games, and had a shy smile, was cuter.

At least it won't make her heart beat like a fool like she is now.

A note from the author:

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