Chapter 40

With his skills, he’ll probably never hear a confession in his lifetime.

For the first time in her life, Hu Xiu took leave during working hours because the ceiling in the bathroom had fallen just before she left.

Most of the old rental apartments were poorly renovated, and they fell into disrepair even before they got old.

The plastic ceiling crashed down with a loud bang while Hu Xiu was still sleeping. At 5:45 AM, she sat up abruptly, trying to discern whether this was a dream or reality, and knew immediately that she’d miss her early class with Pei Zhen today.

Not one to dramatize her situation or tell lies, Hu Xiu sent a video showing the ceiling falling onto the floor. The hard plastic integrated ceiling piece fell to the ground and broke, the sink, toilet, and shower were all destroyed. If you looked closely, you could even see the lifeless… rat.

No wonder she had felt like there was a stranger outside the door in the middle of the night, which had kept her awake for half the night.

It turned out there had been small animals moving around in the ceiling. Pei Zhen quickly sent a message: “Do you need me to come help?”

“No need, I can totally handle it. The ceiling just fell, there’s nothing to be done. If it were simpler, I’d have probably already fixed it.”

This wasn’t a lie. Her father was keen on teaching and playing musical instruments, while her mother rarely did housework. Whenever something broke — like a light bulb or the cutting board cracked, or the washing machine needed repair — she took care of it herself. When appliances broke, she even took out a multimeter to check. Since college, the problems she had to solve had been fewer.

When she was a grad student, the school allowed air conditioners to be installed. She found second-hand units online and installed them in the dormitory, later selling them after graduation — the cost was almost entirely the electricity bill.

Compared to her classmates who only knew how to study, Hu Xiu had more survival instincts, saving quite a bit on living expenses.

Zhao Xiaorou joked that Hu Xiu’s life seemed frugal, but she’d definitely be one of the last survivors if the apocalypse came. Watching the repairman clean up the ceiling, Hu Xiu sat in the kitchen, feeling melancholic. No matter how good she was at life, it couldn’t overcome these unexpected disasters.

The repairman had only measured the dimensions and left, and the renovation would take a week to schedule. Hu Xiu sighed; the sink was now a hole, and the bathroom was shattered. She could only stay at Zhao Xiaorou’s house for the time being. She also had to pack up her valuables and take them with her because she couldn’t leave work without permission. She had to let the landlord have free access to the house.

Recently, Zhao Xiaorou had been getting along very well with the little puppy, and it was really an inconvenient time. But Zhao Xiaorou was very generous over the phone: “We only meet at hotels, so feel free to come stay. I don’t easily let men into my home; distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Huh?”

“The little puppy is on Douyin too. I’m worried my peers might steal my material.”

Zhao Xiaorou has recently been receiving a lot of criticism in the comment section of Weibo, due to her revealing several internet celebrities’ private lives in her love story compilation. Although she didn’t name anyone specifically, they all belonged to the same circle. Netizens followed the Weibo timeline, connecting the dots, and exposed internet celebrity Q for buying counterfeit goods, attending a wine party as the mistress of a new entrepreneur, and planning to conceive at the right time to climb up the social ladder. L works as an escort at a bar, earning 2,800 yuan per night, and as a Scorpio, her preference is to “squeeze out all the energy” from men once she gets into bed. M, due to her infatuation, accidentally had a failed self-fat transfer breast augmentation and is now undergoing surgery to remove the lumps, fearing her breasts will shrink and planning to get silicone implants.

The people involved couldn’t admit to these things because of their reputations, so they hired internet trolls to post negative comments about Zhao Xiaorou.

Over time, Zhao Xiaorou’s fanbase grew, and the comments section turned into a game of “spot the trolls”—the privacy she exposed turned into genuine views.

“You’re really not afraid of being criticized,” said one person.

“These things happen all the time. If people want to connect the dots, it’s their choice. I went out for a drink, how could I hear so much? It’s all fabricated.”

“But the comments are so harsh...”

“You haven’t seen my DMs,” Zhao Xiaorou replied, holding a cigarette and editing a video. “My persona now is to let people watch the drama. If people want spicy commentary, internet celebrity gossip, the rise and fall of love, or the spectacle of cosmetic surgeries—success or failure—I show them exactly that. Whether it’s true or not, they can judge for themselves. If I say it’s true, they’ll accuse me of fabricating it; if I say it’s fake, they’ll claim I’m covering up the truth.”

“The number of noodles in my stomach doesn’t matter, they just want to see the dissection. If I can digest all the slander and accusations, it means I’ve been coerced. It’s like when Wang Guangming thought I was naive back then, and I actually started thinking I was foolish because of it.”

“So, do you think the products you promote are actually good?” Hu Xiu has been curious about this for a while.

“When you encounter awkward situations or unpleasant words in translation, don’t you also try to smooth things over?”

“You’ve always said translation is about social etiquette, the art of gentle persuasion. That really inspired me. Selling products is essentially marketing; it’s just done in a different way. Before, you would stand at a department store counter to attract customers, now you say the ads in front of a camera.”

“I still value my reputation a lot and am very cautious with what I choose. Although I may not be very clever with studies, I’m pretty good at selling things.”

Zhao Xiaorou’s small online store, “Yaojing Shop,” still generates tens of thousands of yuan in revenue every month. She sells items like CDs by the new Nala, concert merchandise, and FM-related products. She regularly buys albums and photo albums from big bands and collects unsold albums from smaller K-pop groups at signings, often taking them back to resell. It’s not for any particular reason, just that Zhao Xiaorou feels it’s a shame when albums collect dust or get forgotten.

The store also carries Korean skincare products from brands like Amorepacific, and her sales are driven by personal interest.

Li Ai once said that Zhao Xiaorou is a “money-making machine” who never sits still, and that’s not far from the truth.

But more often than not, it seems like she’s maintaining her passion for being a fan—there always has to be something to keep her energized.

After showering, Hu Xiu enjoyed the scent of shampoo in her hair, feeling comfortable. With a luxury home and top-notch shampoo, the life of an internet celebrity today really is quite pleasant.

Zhao Xiaorou curled up on her couch, becoming increasingly agitated as she reviewed footage. She jumped up to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle. “Damn, the new editor I hired is terrible! They can’t even do the transition effects properly, in the end, I have to do it myself—useless!”

Hu Xiu immediately snapped out of her thoughts about the comfortable life. After Zhao Xiaorou downed a drink, she looked much more relaxed. “Let me tell you, that little puppy really is great. He’s 17 or 18, quite mature, and really sharp. When we went out, I tried to pay, but he refused. He said boys should always pay, and that really impressed me.”

“These 17 or 18-year-olds today are so different from when we were young.”

“Exactly. Kids from Shanghai are focusing more on financial intelligence than just studying.”

“And you two...?”

“Of course, we slept together. He was the one who initiated it, even showed me his ID. He’s only a month away from turning 18. I can only say that kids these days mature too early. I’m ten years older than him, but... young kids have good stamina, though they lack a bit of... flavor.”

“Flavor?”

“They haven’t experienced much, so I can’t find anything beyond the body. It feels... uninteresting. Let me put it this way, a boy like Diao Zhiyu would never be this boring. No matter if he’s a virgin or has had a girlfriend, he just has this quality that makes you feel like he’s got something deep inside, something hidden. Do you understand what I mean?”

Hu Xiu had felt her heartbeat pounding in her ears before; she knew just how strong his body was, even through their clothes. She quickly shook her head, “I haven’t thought about it...”

“It’s time,” Zhao Xiaorou said. “I think you two aren’t far from that step. It’s strange, though. You’ve known each other for three or four months, and still haven’t slept together? It’s not following the rhythm of big city life.”

“We’re just friends!” Hu Xiu threw herself into the blanket. “I’m done!”

“How’s the ceiling repair going?”

“It’s fine, thanks for asking, Dr. Pei.”

“If it’s really inconvenient to stay, you can stay at my place. My office couch works. Girls can easily get sick if they don’t sleep well.”

“It’s fine, I’m staying at a friend’s. I already said not to worry. I also want Dr. Pei to see me as an excellent colleague and interpreter, and that I won’t slack off in my work.”

On the other end of the phone, she could hear laughter that sounded like breathing. “It’s not the same...”

When she hung up, she wasn’t surprised to see Diao Zhiyu’s disapproving glance. He wasn’t too happy about it.

The moment their eyes met, Hu Xiu’s ears turned bright red. The air conditioning in REGARD was strong, and both Li Ai and Diao Zhiyu were only wearing shirts at the coffee shop. During their free time, Diao Zhiyu would come to learn spatial design from Li Ai, often just in a shirt and black sweater.

After spending so much time together, their outfits even started to look alike. Li Ai had the broad back of an adult man, and the black sweater on him exuded a mature aura; while Diao Zhi Yu’s figure was well-defined, with every joint and muscle line sharp and firm, making Hu Xiu subconsciously take a few extra glances.

Diao Zhi Yu caught him staring: “What’s up, pervert?”

It was actually you who made the first move in THRILLER. Hu Xiu thought about the dangerous physical contact they’d shared and immediately looked away, not meeting Diao Zhi Yu’s gaze, focusing instead on the paper in front of him to double-check the translation word by word.

She had almost worn out her copies of A Guide to Chinese-English Errors and Theory and Practice of Non-literary Translation. Suddenly, Diao Zhi Yu appeared behind her: “You’re in a bad mood.”

Hu Xiu got goosebumps—of course, she wasn’t in a bad mood, it was just that every time she saw him, she couldn’t help but think of those inappropriate things, which really disrupted normal interaction.

She tried to calm her breath and wanted to respond, but Diao Zhi Yu had already sat down opposite her and started playing a game. Hearing the voice of TIMI, Hu Xiu couldn’t help but laugh. She stood up and walked behind him, watching as his hands moved awkwardly and his attacks were all over the place, making Hu Xiu feel embarrassed enough to close her eyes.

If you played King of Glory like this, you’d probably be relegated to watching the game rather than playing in a team.

“Don’t stand behind me.”

“Is it my fault?”

“I can’t play with someone watching. I’ll lose.”

Hu Xiu laughed, opening King of Glory: “That just proves you’re bad. Want to play a match with me?”

If they were facing each other, it would be considered teaming up, but if it wasn’t Diao Zhi Yu, Hu Xiu would have just walked away—she had the level of someone who could curse on the microphone; however, when Diao Zhi Yu played with her, it was like he had a cheat code—he played so well that Hu Xiu was left conflicted.

She was playing with him, yet her rank kept dropping, and this season was basically ruined. After forty minutes of playing, Hu Xiu appeared calm on the surface, but internally she regretted ever playing King of Glory.

If it weren’t for that one and a half hours, Diao Zhi Yu might still have been her three-year-long white moonlight, but now, whether it was Qin Xiao Yi or Diao Zhi Yu, they all fell from their pedestals, and she no longer wanted to be the “Madam Feng Youjin” either!

“Didn’t expect you to be this good.”

“You’re just too bad...”

“That’s not true, I’m just not in a good mood.”

“It’s okay to admit you’re bad, after all, you’re so young, you don’t even have many rings yet.”

“It’s really just the mood,” Diao Zhi Yu blinked, clearly making up an excuse: “If you’re so good, try LOL.”

Hu Xiu struggled to hold back her laughter—back in college, to earn pocket money, she would sneak into an internet cafe with a keyboard to play in competitions, winning first place to get enough for a train ticket and travel; when she was in the remote outskirts of Qingpu, worrying about her salary, she would sell gear to herself for takeout.

And now Diao Zhi Yu was still bragging: “In the dorms back in college, I was the first to get a pentakill. Piece of cake.”

“Oh...” Hu Xiu’s brain suddenly clicked: “Did you bring your computer?”

“I did. Why?”

“The ceiling at home fell and broke my computer, so I had to send it for repairs. I still have to work on the thesis I need to translate for the hospital. Can I borrow your computer tonight?”

Diao Zhi Yu pulled out a silver Dell laptop with Lakers stickers, and the i7 processor was definitely a good gaming setup.

As Hu Xiu thanked him, she thought, What a waste of a poor gamer. Diao Zhi Yu didn’t forget to nervously add when giving her the password: “Don’t go snooping through my files, especially the ones marked with movies... don’t open them.”

Sure enough, all boys’ computers have a movie folder. Hu Xiu stifled her laughter and said seriously: “Don’t worry, I’m just working on the thesis. I won’t touch anything else. If you don’t trust me, you can check the file properties.”

While Zhao Xiaorou was out, Hu Xiu recorded an audio file. After repeating the recording dozens of times, feeling her mouth go dry, she deleted the files: the voice was too thin, too artificial, not sweet enough, so she tried again... After recording for two hours, she ended up with two files that only lasted three seconds when combined.

Next was the crucial part. Hu Xiu right-clicked on the LOL properties, found its directory, downloaded the decrypted installation package, and went straight to “D:\weGameApps\LeagueOfLegends?GAME?DATA\final,” replacing the files in the final folder. After refreshing and clicking, all the small files for the audio and icons appeared.

She went through each of them, replacing the “firstblood” and “pentakill” audios with her own recordings. After triple-checking, she opened the game.

Double-clicking LOL, the music that got her blood pumping began. Back in her freshman year, when Hu Xiu had just entered university and could finally be rebellious, she spent nights playing games while her dormmates were out shopping for clothes or makeup. She was in the dorm, playing LOL until dawn, cursing for the first time in her life.

She had heard teammates talk about replacing game audio before but had dismissed it as some trick for lovers she’d never use. But now... she really used it.

The “firstblood” was Hu Xiu’s own voice. As soon as she heard it, her body was covered with goosebumps. Then came the pentakill. After not playing for so long and feeling nervous, her hands were a little off, and it was hard to get the pentakill.

After several rounds, she finally got the pentakill just as Zhao Xiaorou walked in. Hu Xiu quickly shut the computer: “You’re back so soon?”

“Who were you talking to just now, saying ‘I like you’?”

“You heard wrong. I was just playing a game. Rarely play a match of LOL,” Hu Xiu’s mind was racing, her heart pounding as she rushed into her bedroom with the computer.

Diao Zhi Yu’s LOL pentakill had been replaced with “I like you.”

Hugging the computer against the door, Hu Xiu’s heartbeat hadn’t slowed down. She thought, Who came up with this kind of confession for their boyfriend? No wonder he said he would only marry her—it’s so romantic for someone who plays games!

The next second, Hu Xiu smiled bittersweetly—at Diao Zhi Yu’s level, he would probably never hear this confession.

When Hu Xiu returned the computer to Diao Zhi Yu, she wasn’t surprised to see his nervousness: “You... didn’t look through my folders, right?”

“No…” Hu Xiu naturally couldn’t resist taking a glance. Inside the folder marked with movies, filenames like abp-6904TEK-072SOE-922 were clearly arranged, all ending in .avi. She accidentally discovered that Diao Zhi Yu’s taste leaned towards mature women. To cover up her modifications to LOL, Hu Xiu even went into the properties and changed the browsing date.

Seeing Diao Zhi Yu’s awkward expression, Hu Xiu also felt a little embarrassed. She subtly remarked, “If you like playing LOL, you might want to play it more in your spare time.”

“Do you see my work schedule right now?” Diao Zhi Yu opened his computer, his brows slowly relaxing, as if relieved.

Hu Xiu pressed on: “Compared to King of Glory, LOL does have its charm. If you really want to play games, I’d still suggest you play LOL more.”

Diao Zhi Yu finally picked up on her unusual tone: “What are you trying to say?”

Hu Xiu decided to keep up the act. She shrugged: “Diao Zhi Yu, you really suck at games, whether it’s mobile games or computer games. You should practice more!”