Chapter 25: Reluctantly
This house used to be the NAVA training base. The second floor had a separate e-sports room. After eating and chatting briefly with the aunties, Shen Guanchao went up to train.
Of course, he went to duo queue training with Lu Wuxu.
Just as he logged on, Lu Wuxu sent him a team invite. It was a “Lovers Event” for the New Year; completing it gave 520 intimacy points.
“Hm?” He adjusted his mic, rejected the invite, and asked, “Why do you want to do this? Farming intimacy?”
“Yeah.” Lu Wuxu also turned on his mic, responding faintly, “Saw it when I logged on, thought I’d do it along the way.”
“No need.”
Shen Guanchao, very unromantically, opened the game shop, spent money to buy two hundred Friendship Paper Cranes, sent them all to him at once, and then opened the ranked queue. “Farmed. Let’s go.”
[“NAVA·Flesh” has gifted you 200 “Paper Cranes”]
[Your friendliness level has increased by 2000. Congratulations on achieving the “Through Wind and Rain” achievement and unlocking the new relationship “Bosom Friend”—]
[Your bosom friend “NAVA·Flesh” invites you to join the team – Special Training Battlefield – 1/4]
Lu Wuxu looked at these cold system notifications, smiled silently, and accepted the team invite with self-mockery. “Coming.”
He remembered that not long ago, Shen Guanchao would accompany a small fan in the game to do these kinds of lovers’ quests, even tirelessly repeating dungeons he had already done with that fan.
When it came to him, he could only get a few cold Friendship Paper Cranes.
Can they really only be friends?
Villa living room.
Xie Jingchu finished eating a bit later than Shen Guanchao. He brought the dishes to the kitchen, but the aunties enthusiastically told him to put them down and just go sit outside.
He nodded slightly, leaving somewhat awkwardly under their gaze. He came to a corner; on his right was a glass display window filled with countless trophies and medals, mostly “territory” conquered by the NAVA team in the early days. There were also many group photos.
In those photos, a youthful Shen Guanchao stood in the center, smiling brightly like the sun, arms around his teammates, sharing glory—just like when they first met, in the prime of youth.
Walking past Shen Guanchao’s youth, Xie Jingchu came to a photo wall.
In one photo, a teenage Shen Guanchao wore a blue and white school uniform, rolling his eyes with a mocking expression, standing on the stairs. Pear Flower Na proudly pulled at the hem of his clothes, posing as if riding a horse, urging the teenager to move forward faster.
Teenage Chen Zhongwen was also in this photo, arms crossed, watching the drama from the bottom of the stairs, giving a thumbs up.
In middle school, they were the iron triangle who talked about everything. Whether doing good or bad deeds, they were always together.
The teenagers seemed to glow, brilliant and beautiful.
Only later, one ran to NAVA, one ran to RSG, venturing into the e-sports circle, leaving Chen Zhongwen alone to continue being his纨绔 wealthy scion in City A.
Xie Jingchu reached out to touch the teenager in the photo.
Coincidentally, Shen Guanchao finished a match and came down from the e-sports room to get a glass of juice. Seeing Xie Jingchu’s back, he smiled and asked, “Was Gege handsome when he was young?”
“Mn.” Xie Jingchu nodded.
“Since you praised me for being handsome, I’ll reluctantly—” Shen Guanchao smiled, taking out a Polaroid camera from the corner of the photo wall in a good mood, “Take a picture with you too.”
“Come here.”
Xie Jingchu walked obediently to his side, asking warmly, “How do we take it?”
Shen Guanchao found the photo paper. “Hmm… up to you. Hugging? Holding hands? Kissing? Arms around each other?”
Xie Jingchu blushed at hearing this. “Don’t joke. Just… standing.”
“Alright.”
“Your call.”
Shen Guanchao adjusted the lens, leaned close to him, raised the Polaroid, made a simple peace sign, and pressed the shutter. Their first photo was born.
“Are you training upstairs?” Xie Jingchu took the Polaroid, watching Shen Guanchao fetch two glasses of freshly squeezed juice from the kitchen, and asked hesitantly, “My Sniper account reached National Rank 1 this week. Can you take me along?”
Shen Guanchao handed him a glass of juice. “You’re injured, not resting?”
“I can do it. I want to accompany you.”
Shen Guanchao didn’t refuse again, but since Lu Wuxu was there, he said, “I’m playing with the club’s Sniper Lu. If you want to come, play a Healer account. Just follow me.”
“While playing, you’re not allowed to call me Gege, and not allowed to act spoiled.”
“Okay…” Xie Jingchu followed him upstairs.
Back at the computer, Shen Guanchao said faintly through the microphone to Lu Wuxu on the other side of the screen, “Bringing someone. A Healer, plays pretty well.”
Lu Wuxu chuckled lightly. “Is it that little fan of yours? Come on then.”
“En.” Shen Guanchao pulled the person in and asked, “Is the equipment adjusted? Want me to teach you?”
Lu Wuxu listened to him patiently asking Xie Jingchu again and again, completely unlike the person who just bought paper cranes to avoid trouble moments ago. Feeling a bit bitter, he urged, “Ready? Starting.”
The game started. The Healer followed the Main Attacker like a shadow, giving shields when needed, healing when asked. Just as Shen Guanchao said, he played “pretty well”—except this little Healer would annoyingly dance on the enemy’s corpse every time after assisting a kill, flash his cat paw icon, and then return to the Main Attacker’s side.
This annoying playstyle quickly attracted most of the enemy’s aggro to Xie Jingchu. While Shen Guanchao was supporting the Sniper, enemies ambushed Xie Jingchu, who was farming healing items at Point A.
[Ally Healer player “Jing” has been slain by Red Team player “Has Medicine”]
Lu Wuxu looked at the kill feed and raised an eyebrow. Then he heard a strange male voice from the microphone.
Xie Jingchu pitched his voice high (cutely): “Aiya Gege… got killed.”
Lu Wuxu: “…”
“En, I’m coming to help you.” Shen Guanchao knew he was playing little tricks again and smiled. “Don’t act spoiled, speak properly.”
“Forgot what I told you when we came upstairs?”
No calling Gege, no acting spoiled.
Xie Jingchu: “Okay Gege.”
“You two… are together right now?” Lu Wuxu suddenly frowned and asked.
“He’s next to me. Something happened at his home, staying at my place temporarily.” Shen Guanchao teleported back to the spawn point, catching Xie Jingchu who just respawned. “Alright, play seriously, no chatting.”
The Healer class introduced a new skill this version: Thousand Threads. The Tier 1 skill could tether to three other teammates simultaneously, providing mid-range healing and shielding through the long threads, significantly improving the Healer’s range issue. The threads would automatically disappear after teammates ran a certain distance, not affecting normal movement.
The Tier 2 skill of Thousand Threads was similar to the hero Yao in Honor of Kings. It allowed attaching to a teammate via the long thread. After attaching, the Healer enters a possessed state, providing the teammate with a physical shield to block damage. Skills are enhanced and cooldowns reduced, but the Healer can no longer move freely until they actively detach or are knocked off by the enemy.
The Healer was buffed significantly this version. Shen Guanchao prepared to capture the opposing Point C and called out in voice chat: “Little Fox Fairy.”
“Hm?!” Following behind him, the Healer dressed as a white fox spirit responded subconsciously.
Shen Guanchao laughed very low. “Attach to me. Taking you to the other side to face-smash them.”
“Is Gege taking me to kill our way back?” Xie Jingchu attached to Shen Guanchao, his Adam’s apple rolling, unconsciously becoming nervous, answering his own question: “Okay then.”
Watching the Fox Fairy hanging leisurely on the mech, Shen Guanchao’s feel for the game got even better. He rushed into the enemy’s Point C from the side, instantly throwing a slowing serum to take the head of the opposing sub-attacker, then went on a rampage.
Lu Wuxu finished off a low-health enemy from high ground and said faintly, “I can’t win either, come help me?”
A Sniper who had been National Rank 1 for consecutive seasons said seriously. Shen Guanchao paused and asked, “Is your aim off today, both of you?”
One getting chased, one can’t win.
Are two top Snipers playing Empresses in the Palace? Toying with him.
“Gege, I really can’t win,” Xie Jingchu laughed lightly.
Shen Guanchao didn’t want to flame him. “Little Green Tea.”
And a nearly 1.9-meter tall Little Green Tea at that.
“You stick with someone else first.” Shen Guanchao exposed his little scheme. “I’ll help Old Lu.”
Then added: “You two better genuinely be unable to win.”
Lu Wuxu laughed dryly. “Don’t trust me?”
He clicked on Xie Jingchu’s game profile. The rank was only Special Training Ace I, and not many season badges, but the win rate was high. Probably a smurf account.
Likely a smurf opened deliberately to get close to Shen Guanchao. From the character outfit to the tone of voice, Lu Wuxu realized that this little fan in the team wasn’t just simply admiring Shen Guanchao.
Men always have some inexplicable possessiveness at work. He deliberately went easy on the opponents twice, pulling Shen Guanchao to support, so that the system announcement kept ringing with— “Sniper NAVA·Lu requests support.”
“Received, Flesh is on the way.”
After the two coordinated to get a double kill, Shen Guanchao asked, “Why are you oscillating between strong and trash today?”
“You don’t usually play like this.”
Lu Wuxu: “Depends on the mood. Mood’s a bit jumpy today.”
“Idiot.” Shen Guanchao sneered. “Then for future matches, before going on stage, should I coax you first so you can perform supernaturally and carry the whole game?”
Lu Wuxu: “Sure. National Server Boosting Service, match history open for viewing.”
They pierced through the opposition, winning the match without suspense.
Training all the way until past eleven, they finally completed six high-elo matches. Shen Guanchao disbanded the team, intending to rest and scroll through his phone, but another team invite popped up on the screen.
[Player “Jing” invites you to join the team – Casual – Lovers in the World Quest – 1/4]
[[Friend] Jing: Farming intimacy points]
Sitting right next to him, yet Xie Jingchu privately messaged him in-game. Shen Guanchao raised an eyebrow and accepted the invitation to join the team.
This time, he didn’t directly buy a few hundred paper cranes to dismiss him.
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