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Sensing her mood shift, Wu Xuan reached out and patted her head gently. “It’s okay, don’t worry. The college entrance exams are only a few months away. Don’t be afraid.”
Chi Zhiyu gave a noncommittal hum in response.
Wu Xuan didn’t press further and changed the subject. “So are you really planning to just never tell Xie Ye?”
“......”
“I really don’t think Xie Ye has no feelings for you,” Wu Xuan analyzed. “He’s super nice to you—everyone thinks so. Don’t you feel anything?”
“I didn’t really feel anything before,” Chi Zhiyu blinked, “but lately...”
“Hmm?” Wu Xuan raised her brows. “Did Xie Ye make a move or something?”
“No, just... I feel like he’s been kind of...” Chi Zhiyu searched for the right word, “cocky.”
“???”
“Cocky?” Wu Xuan was confused. “Isn’t he always kind of cocky?”
Chi Zhiyu shook her head. “Normally, he’s just arrogant—looking down on everyone. But this is different.”
“Different how?”
“It’s like...” Chi Zhiyu recalled how Xie Ye had acted after she accidentally kissed him twice, and said thoughtfully, “like he’s doing it on purpose.”
“Huh?” Wu Xuan still didn’t get it. “What do you mean, doing what on purpose?”
Chi Zhiyu didn’t explain. “Never mind. It’s just something recent.”
“Well, you guys are in the same class and even deskmates now,” Wu Xuan said. “You didn’t have many chances to hang out before, but now with all this close contact, maybe things just feel different?”
At the mention of “close contact,” Chi Zhiyu seemed to think of something and coughed immediately.
Wu Xuan didn’t notice and casually asked, “So, do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing?”
Chi Zhiyu pursed her lips. “It’s... not exactly a bad thing.”
At least she wasn’t the only one on the losing end—she’d taken advantage of him twice.
One kiss out in the open, another in secret.
“If it’s not a bad thing, then there’s nothing to worry about. Xie Ye wouldn’t do anything to hurt you,” Wu Xuan mused. “Why not try testing him one day?”
Chi Zhiyu: “Like how?”
“Like asking him if he likes you.”
“......” Chi Zhiyu was speechless. “That’s your idea of testing?”
Wu Xuan shrugged. “I don’t have experience in this kind of stuff. That’s the most straightforward way.”
“Forget it. Stop worrying about me.”
“Alright, fine.”
The topic came to a close. Wu Xuan asked about the upcoming school exam, and after some casual chatting—
She looked at her watch. “It’s already almost six. I’m heading home.”
Chi Zhiyu nodded, ready to walk her to the door.
But Wu Xuan waved her off. “No need. You should study those two books properly. Maybe there’s actually something meaningful in them.”
Chi Zhiyu laughed. “What, like a secret love confession?”
“Could be,” Wu Xuan teased. “He’s got you reading farming books now—maybe he really wants to live like the Cowherd and Weaver Girl. You till the fields, he weaves the cloth.”
“What nonsense.” Chi Zhiyu laughed and pushed her out. “Just go home already.”
Wu Xuan changed shoes, said her goodbyes, and left through the front door.
Chi Zhiyu returned to the living room and slumped onto the couch with a pillow, thinking about what Wu Xuan had said.
Aunt Wang came over with a plate of fruit and placed it in front of her. “Fresh oranges I just bought this afternoon. Try one, Xiaoyu.”
“Thanks, Aunt Wang.” Chi Zhiyu took one, peeled it, and saw Aunt Wang carrying a bag of oranges toward the door. She blinked, then quickly stood up and called out, “Aunt Wang, I’ll deliver them!”
Aunt Wang paused, surprised. Chi Zhiyu walked over and asked, “Are these for Aunt Zhi?”
“Yes, I was going to bring them next door.”
“I’ll do it. I need to go over there anyway,” Chi Zhiyu said, taking the bag with one hand.
“Oh, okay. I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Don’t worry.”
She put on her shoes and headed across the hallway. After ringing the doorbell, a housekeeper opened the door and let her in.
“Aunt Zhi, I brought some oranges.”
From the kitchen, Jian Yazhi turned her head when she heard the voice. Seeing the bag, she smiled gently. “Wang Jie bought oranges?”
Chi Zhiyu nodded. Jian Yazhi took a few out. “Auntie will just take these. The rest—why don’t you bring them upstairs and share them with Xie Ye?”
“Alright.” Chi Zhiyu took the bag again and walked to the stairs, climbing step by step.
Knock knock.
She stood at his door and knocked. After a few seconds with no response, she raised her hand to knock again but suddenly felt like this scene was familiar. She glanced behind her.
Empty. No one there.
Chi Zhiyu tilted her head, then casually opened the door.
The room was spacious and dim, the curtains half-drawn. A beam of light spilled in from one side.
In the shadowed corner, a lean boy sat at a computer desk, wearing headphones, eyes fixed on the screen. He was backlit, making his features hard to see. One hand was on the mouse, the other hovered over the keyboard, typing lightly.
Noticing the figure entering from the corner of his eye, he turned his head slightly.
As he moved, light fell across his side profile, outlining his features like a sketch—clean, sharp, and defined.
Chi Zhiyu shut the door and walked toward him. She glanced at the screen and frowned. “Playing games again?”
His game had voice chat enabled, so her words were picked up by his mic.
The teammates, who had been playing peacefully, suddenly froze.
They thought someone had opened the world chat—then looked and saw it was coming from Player 3: Xie Ye.
“Wait, Ye-ge, why is there a girl’s voice on your end?” one asked.
Lin Jie, who was also in the group, found the voice oddly familiar. Before he could figure it out—
Xie Ye turned off voice chat.
“......”
Yang Bin was the first to react. “Wait… does Ye-ge have a girlfriend?”
Ding Hui: “No way. He’s in high school. Who dates seriously in high school?”
“You’re always at the club. Don’t act like you’ve ever dated either,” Yang Bin shot back.
“What? I can think about it, can’t I?”
Then Ding Hui turned to Lin Jie. “You two are classmates. You should know if Ye-ge has a girlfriend, right?”
Lin Jie finally remembered who the girl’s voice belonged to. After a moment of consideration, he said, “He... doesn’t have one for now.”
Yang Bin: “What do you mean for now?”
Lin Jie cleared his throat and suddenly looked ahead. “Enemy spotted, North 36.”
Yang Bin: “Yo, finally some action.”
The topic successfully shifted.
Meanwhile, Chi Zhiyu was busy lecturing someone. “We have an exam tomorrow, and you're playing games instead of reviewing?”
Xie Ye was slowly peeling an orange. Before he could eat any, half of it was snatched by the chattering person in front of him. He didn’t react and just continued peeling the rest.
“Are you already so addicted you can’t stop?” Chi Zhiyu frowned.
Xie Ye casually put down the orange peel and grabbed a tissue to wipe the yellow-stained fingertips. “This isn’t just a game.”
“Huh?” Chi Zhiyu was stunned. “Then what is it?”
Xie Ye replied, sounding mysteriously profound, “Territory expansion.”
“......”
What nonsense.
Chi Zhiyu glanced at his computer screen. The match still wasn’t over, and somehow he hadn’t been found or eliminated yet.
Noticing her gaze, Xie Ye raised a brow. “Want to play?”
Chi Zhiyu didn’t see any issue and lazily nodded. “Sure.”
She had her own game account, created back when she used to play with Xie Ye out of boredom. But she didn’t play much, so it eventually became one of Xie Ye’s alt accounts.
He didn’t make her log in to her account this time—he just let her use his.
Chi Zhiyu sat in his seat, her fingers a bit stiff on the keyboard. She turned to ask, “What do these keys do again?”
Hearing this, Xie Ye stood behind her, bent down, and guided her hands, helping her re-familiarize herself with the controls. “These are for moving, crouching, sprinting…”
Chi Zhiyu was briefly startled by his movements.
She could feel his breath near her ear as he spoke, tinged with the light scent of sandalwood. He had clearly leaned closer, his presence brushing lightly against the tip of her ear.
A bit ticklish.
He had completely wrapped her in his arms.
Her back was against his chest—warm, broad, and gently rising and falling.
All her senses were taken over by the boy behind her—so present, so overwhelming.
It felt close.
Close enough that if she turned her head slightly, she’d kiss his cheek.
His hand wrapped around hers, the warmth of his palm pressing into her skin. She didn’t dare move. Instead, she selfishly wished he’d stay like that.
“Got it now?” Xie Ye suddenly asked.
Chi Zhiyu snapped back to reality, eyes fixed on the screen. She nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”
Xie Ye let go and stood up straight before sitting down in the chair next to her. “You remembered everything?”
The pressure that had been pounding on her heart finally lifted.
Chi Zhiyu pressed her lips together, flexed her stiff fingers, and casually said, “More or less.”
Xie Ye raised an eyebrow. “Everything?”
“I’ve played before. I just forgot some things. You just taught me, didn’t you?” she defended herself.
Xie Ye stared at her silently with his deep black eyes.
Facing his direct gaze, Chi Zhiyu calmly pointed at the screen. “Where did your teammates go?”
“Hmm.” Xie Ye didn’t look away. Instead, he suddenly said, “Chi Zhiyu.”
Still not fully recovered, she tensed at the sound of her name. “Yeah? What?”
He studied her carefully and asked slowly, “Why is your face red?”
Chi Zhiyu froze, paused a few seconds, and said, “Is it?”
Xie Ye nodded, speaking nonchalantly, “You’re about as red as a tomato now.”
“......”
Chi Zhiyu, feeling the heat rising rapidly in her cheeks, tried to calm herself down and said coolly, “Maybe the orange I just ate was too sour, and the reaction’s just hitting me.”
Xie Ye seemed amused, eyes glinting. He drawled, “That’s a pretty delayed reaction.”
“True,” Chi Zhiyu played along. “Maybe it was poisoned.”
Xie Ye: “......”
Chi Zhiyu: “......”
What was she even saying?
Was she losing her mind?
Ah.
“Oh, someone’s here,” she quickly said, turning back to the screen.
“Mhm.” Xie Ye didn’t move his eyes from her, looking thoughtful. “Let’s go on the offensive.”
Chi Zhiyu nodded and clumsily operated her character, lying prone in a patch of grass. She aimed at an enemy who was changing gear outside a building and fired several quick shots.
System announcement: [wild knocked down milipo with M416]
Chi Zhiyu was fairly pleased with her first shot and glanced at Xie Ye.
Catching her proud little look, he didn’t mock her for once.
She maneuvered her character to stand and deliver the final blow.
Xie Ye said, “No need to finish him. Let’s move—he doesn’t have teammates.”
“Letting him slowly watch himself die? That’s too cruel,” she said, glancing at him.
“......”
“I’ll just let him die quickly,” she decided.
She walked her character over to the crawling enemy and shot him in the head.
The enemy let out a scream before turning into a loot box.
Chi Zhiyu opened the box to loot his gear.
Lin Jie and the others must’ve seen the kill announcement and ran over. Chi Zhiyu frowned slightly. “Why aren’t they saying anything? No comms?”
Xie Ye: “I muted them.”
Chi Zhiyu: “Why?”
Xie Ye, disinterested: “Too noisy.”
“......” Chi Zhiyu: “Still, I need to coordinate with them. Turn it back on.”
Xie Ye frowned slightly, took her mouse, and clicked a few buttons.
The next second, the voices of teammate 1 (Ding Hui) and teammate 2 (Yang Bin) came flooding in.
Chi Zhiyu: “......”
It was noisy.
Yang Bin was asking where Xie Ye had gone and why he was just now returning.
Chi Zhiyu blinked and responded, “He’s not here.”
“......”
The comms went dead silent, the atmosphere freezing.
A few seconds later, two voices broke the silence with expletives.
“Holy shit.”
“Holy shit.”
“No no no—Miss, no offense, I didn’t mean you,” Ding Hui said hurriedly. “Were you just the one playing?”
Chi Zhiyu: “Yes.”
Hearing her calm, clear voice, Yang Bin quickly asked, “Where’s Ye-ge? Why are you on his account? Do you two know each other?”
So many questions.
Chi Zhiyu just picked the first one to answer. “Oh, he’s next to me.”
Ding Hui: “......”
Yang Bin: “......”
We’ll leave you two alone, then.
Xie Ye said nothing, just lifted his chin and told her, “Four is Lin Jie.”
“Huh?” Chi Zhiyu blinked. “Lin Jie?”
Lin Jie heard and quickly greeted her.
“You three know each other?” Yang Bin asked. “Classmates?”
He knew Xie Ye and Lin Jie were in the same class, so it wasn’t hard to connect the dots.
Lin Jie replied, “Yeah. We sit front and back. Chi-meimei and Ye-ge are desk mates.”
Hearing the nickname, Yang Bin asked curiously, “Why call her Chi-meimei? Is she Ye-ge’s sister?”
“No no no,” Lin Jie quickly clarified. “It’s just something we call her.”
Yang Bin said, “Ah, got it.”
Then, very insensitively, he asked, “So if she’s not your sister, is she Ye-ge’s girlfr—”
Xie Ye turned his head and interrupted, “You sure are talkative today.”
Yang Bin immediately went silent.
Ding Hui understood this as a sign not to press further. He chuckled awkwardly, “Ye-ge’s really attentive. Since Lin Jie calls you Chi-meimei, we’ll follow suit—how about that?”
Chi Zhiyu nodded. “Sure, I don’t mind.”
Yang Bin: “Alright then, Chi-meimei, let’s play together.”
Chi Zhiyu warned in advance, “I’m not that good, don’t get your hopes up.”
Ding Hui replied casually, “No worries, Ye-ge’s next to you. We won’t lose.”
The four lazily strolled ahead. Ding Hui asked, “Where to, Ye-ge?”
Xie Ye looked at the map. “Taem Bang.”
They paused, realized Chi Zhiyu was with them, and nodded in understanding. “Got it.”
Chi Zhiyu followed along and noticed they weren’t encountering many enemies. These guys weren’t aggressive—they seemed more like they were giving her a guided tour of the game.
She was fine with that. She wasn’t there to fight hard anyway—just to pass some time.
She climbed into a house and turned on auto-pickup. Her character started grabbing higher-tier loot automatically.
As she wandered around, Yang Bin and Ding Hui were chatting idly. They were playing from side-by-side PCs at the YG Club’s PUBG division.
Yang Bin lowered his voice, moving away from the mic. “Hey, think that girl is Ye-ge’s girlfriend?”
Ding Hui shook his head. “They might just be friends.”
“No way, something’s up,” Yang Bin didn’t believe it.
Ding Hui nodded, “Okay then, tell me—what’s off?”
Just then, they heard a small noise from player 3’s mic.
Ding Hui and Yang Bin looked at the screen.
The next moment—
Xie Ye suddenly said, “Take it off.”
“?”
“The armor.”
“......”
Ding Hui & Yang Bin: ????
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