SY - 72

Although Song Zhi had taken a few days off, intending to rest and prepare for the wedding, the work that had been scheduled beforehand couldn’t be postponed.

Her contract with Black Cat TV was expiring at the end of the year, and they intended to sign her for another two years.

Song Zhi initially thought this endorsement would be lost due to her sudden relationship exposure, but it surprisingly didn’t affect her popularity among the male otaku community at all.

Xia Wanyue had gone back to her hometown for something and couldn’t return in time, so she could only instruct her over the phone: “Be careful with your words and actions. If you don’t know how to answer something, don’t answer it. Do you understand what I mean?”

Song Zhi had heard this phrase from her so many times that it was practically ingrained in her memory. She replied perfunctorily, “Got it.”

“You better have gotten it. If I find you causing any more trouble, I won’t let you off the hook.”

“...”

No wonder Xia Wanyue was worried; Song Zhi was indeed a handful.

She changed her clothes and left. Xiao Xu was already waiting obediently downstairs, holding a latte he had bought from a nearby Starbucks.

Song Zhi took off her hat as she approached him and looked at him. “Why are your eyes so dark? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

He yawned and handed her the latte. “I played games all night.”

Song Zhi had been idle at home these past few days, so he also had some free time.

Normally, he would just eat and sleep, and when he woke up, he’d play games, completely reversing his day and night, embodying the otaku lifestyle perfectly.

Although she had attended an event organized by Black Cat TV before, this time it was a bit different.

Last time, Song Zhi was the only artist invited, but this time, perhaps due to sufficient funding, they invited several.

The venue also changed from a hotel room to a broadcast studio.

Song Zhi held her latte and sighed, “They’re quite lavish this time.”

Finally, they weren’t all squeezed into a small room anymore.

She was wandering around like an old cadre on an inspection tour when Zhang Fanfan, like a human loudspeaker, called out to her loudly, “Good afternoon, little sister-in-law!”

Song Zhi’s eyebrows slightly raised. Upon seeing her, she suddenly felt a headache coming on.

She turned to leave, but Zhang Fanfan wouldn’t let her go. She rushed over and linked arms with her, her cherry-red lips pouting in a wronged manner. “Why hasn’t Song Luo been answering my calls lately? Does he find me annoying? But I’ve already been very restrained; I only call him once a day because I’m afraid of disturbing him.”

Song Zhi comforted her, “He’s just like that. Sometimes he doesn’t answer my calls either.”

“Really?”

Although Zhang Fanfan was a bit noisy, she wasn’t a bad person.

Therefore, Song Zhi’s impression of her wasn’t bad.

To persuade her to cut her losses in time, she deliberately spoke ill of Song Luo: “You can’t be fooled by his appearance. He has a terrible temper, smokes a lot, and snores when he sleeps.”

Zhang Fanfan remained silent for a long time after hearing her words. Song Zhi thought she had come to her senses and felt a little relieved.

It wasn’t that she, as a sister, was siding with an outsider. The main thing was Song Luo’s temper; Zhang Fanfan couldn’t handle him.

Although she was spoiled and a bit arrogant, deep down she was still a little girl.

Being with someone with a volatile temper like Song Luo would probably lead to her crying hysterically in less than two days.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Fanfan covered her chest, her face full of shyness: “Snoring in his sleep, how cute.”

Song Zhi: “...”

Alright, she was defeated.

________________________________________

Artists gradually arrived. They had all had some contact or at least met once before.

Now, they politely greeted each other one by one.

Song Zhi didn’t have much involvement or interest in games. Her brain and reaction speed simply couldn’t keep up.

She had played a few times with Tang Xiaoyan before, but never really understood it.

During the previous event, they played League of Legends as support, and she was carried by He Hanyang the entire time.

Plus, the opponents went easy on them, so her death count was very low, and she even picked up a few kills that He Hanyang intentionally gave her.

This time, it seemed to be a randomly formed team: two artists and two professional players.

PUBG was even harder for Song Zhi to play than League of Legends.

The professional players arrived late, having just finished a match.

People who were opponents at the match site an hour ago were now arm in arm, very familiar.

They clearly hadn’t recovered from the recent match, each one excited beyond measure: “Teacher V’s flashbang was absolutely brilliant! I was literally deafened.”

“Later, after the event, let’s go back and review the match, learn from Teacher V’s one-man-against-four ultimate move.”

“Give it a rest, do you have Teacher V’s quick reflexes?”

“Hahahahaha, it seems being single for so long has some benefits.”

A group of spirited young men entered the studio and sat down in their respective seats.

They had brought their own peripherals and were currently busy changing their keyboards and mice.

The man pushed open the door and entered, wearing a black team uniform with a hood pulled over his head. A backpack embroidered with the team’s logo hung loosely on his left shoulder, its zipper, as always, not fully closed, revealing a corner of his keyboard.

The unique aura of lethargy and decay about him made him stand out in the crowd.

He yawned, pulling his hood even lower, his eyelashes slightly lowered, looking at the floor.

Song Zhi saw him and was first stunned.

She seemed not to have expected to meet him here.

Just as she was wondering whether to greet him, He Hanyang walked past her silently.

As if they were strangers.

Zhang Fanfan’s little head leaned over, and she asked curiously, “Didn’t He Hanyang speak up for you on Weibo before? Why doesn’t he even say hello when he sees you now?”

Song Zhi poked her forehead to push her head away, laughing, “You haven’t even sorted out your own problems yet, and now you have time to worry about others?”

________________________________________

The event consisted of a show match, divided into two halves.

Song Zhi and Zhang Fanfan were on the same team. She had met the other two professional players on their team a few times before.

They were He Hanyang’s former teammates, two talkative young brothers.

She wasn’t very good at playing; she couldn’t even walk properly, moving sideways the entire time.

Laughter came through her headset: “Goddess, just follow me. I’ll protect you.”

No sooner had Song Zhi said “okay” than she fell to the ground with the sound of gunshots.

The game commentator’s voice was very close: “Wow, congratulations to Teacher V for a great start, but the target of this kill seems a bit...”

Their previous rumors were already widely known. The commentator knew that Song Zhi was now taken and was worried that anything he said casually would send the two onto trending searches.

He paused for a rare moment, then said, “Teacher V must have made a mistake. From the entry point we just saw, he actually looked...”

Before he could finish, the suppressed sound of a 98K rang out again.

Song Zhi directly turned into a loot box, lying there quietly.

The man lying on the rooftop calmly switched his sniper rifle to an M4, then swiftly vaulted through the window and descended the building.

Song Zhi stared blankly at the screen. “Am I... dead?”

Ximei chuckled dryly, “It’s okay, just consider it a break.”

Cold sweat broke out on his back. He never expected He Hanyang to be so ruthless.

After all, she was once a goddess to him, yet he risked being surrounded by their entire team just to snipe her first.

It showed the extent of his disgust for her.

Indeed, a man’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

This match was livestreamed, and within moments, the comments section exploded.

[Honestly, He Hanyang is too much. She was his goddess once, why be so ruthless?]

[Falling in love and then hating like that is too extreme. Song Zhi is truly miserable...]

[It’s just a game. How would he know which one is Song Zhi?]

[Yeah, the goal of a game is to win. Just because she was once his goddess, he should go easy?]

[Esports, no love.]

[Anyone who plays games knows how dangerous it is for Teacher V to leave his team and come directly. And the other side is a whole team. It seems he really hates her a lot.]

[Those CP fan girls are going to cry later. Their beloved CP directly ended. Hahahahahaha, allow me to gloat.]

After Song Zhi died, she started spectating her teammates. Zhang Fanfan was well-protected and didn’t pick up much equipment. She spent the entire time observing whose clothes looked good.

Then she’d ask Ximei to help her kill that person so she could loot their box and change clothes.

The match ended with He Hanyang’s team winning.

During the halftime break, Zhang Fanfan took off her headphones and asked her curiously, “Did you do something? Why does He Hanyang dislike you so much?”

She hadn’t done anything. After making things clear with him, she completely cut off contact.

He was young; he might have been infatuated for a moment, but with enough time, he would get over it.

Continued ambiguity would only hurt him.

Zhang Fanfan pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, “Maybe he unfollowed you because you’re in a relationship.”

Both of them were originally idols.

When an idol falls in love, it’s completely normal for fans to unfollow and turn against them.

Song Zhi thought about it. “That makes sense.”

People who aren’t very smart are extremely easily persuaded by equally unintelligent people.

The second half of the match began, and Song Zhi was still killed by a grenade thrown from an unknown location before she even warmed up her mouse.

She took off her headset, just in time to hear the excited commentator say, “He Hanyang has once again killed Song Zhi! This match was definitely worth watching.”

Song Zhi: “...”

The event continued until 5 PM and finally concluded.

He Hanyang yawned and left with his teammates. They were discussing where to eat dinner.

Hotpot or barbecue.

There was weariness in his eyes, and the fringe of hair on his forehead was disheveled. “Whatever.”

Song Zhi’s seat was near the aisle, and they passed by her.

He Hanyang didn’t pause at all, pulling his hood over his head to block his vision.

After he left, Song Zhi looked at the crumpled note on the table.

He Hanyang had thrown it to her as he passed by.

She opened it with a puzzled expression.

[I’m sorry, I wasn’t intentionally targeting you just now. I just didn’t want you to be bothered because of me. After thinking about it, this seemed like the simplest and most direct way. Let’s just be strangers from now on.]