After Kissing the Esports God, He Keeps Flirting With Me Chapter 38

【38】 They Weren’t Steadfast Enough, But I Will Love You Forever

Wen Ran simply couldn’t find a chance to go back and pack his things. For the upcoming Autumn Split, DS had begun intensive training. Almost every day was packed, and Wen Ran stayed at the base, even making do with just a few bites for meals.

With two new players joined this season, they needed to build synergy and practice developing new systems. Wen Ran was also an aggressive Mage Assassin who could be played as a core. Because his playstyle had a large individual mechanical difference from Ye Xin’s, they had to develop a separate strategy to coordinate with him.

The coaching staff still wanted to achieve some results. Currently, DS was stuck in Group B. Not only were fans unhappy—with a large group of them unfollowing—but it would also affect Ye Xin’s endorsements and the club’s sponsors.

In the current meta, compared to ADCs who were hard to build and easy to kill, Mage Assassins and Junglers were better at setting the rhythm as cores. Wen Ran’s arrival could be said to be perfect timing.

If they trained well, they might be able to break into Group A and at least stabilize their supporters.

But they faced a huge problem: no one was willing to schedule scrims with them.

Scrims, to put it plainly, were meant to be win-win for both sides. For strong teams, playing against weak teams was useless; it was like cutting melons and vegetables—they wouldn’t get any improvement out of it.

Moreover, because they were afraid of exposing their strategies, when strong teams played each other, they would hold back and wouldn’t go all out like they would on the professional stage.

DS’s performance last season was far too poor, and their strongest pillar, Ye Xin, wasn’t even playing, replaced by a rookie with zero background.

The guy hadn’t even played in the secondary leagues. If you wanted to find videos of him, you had to go to other streamers’ channels, and his match data and game counts were pitifully low. Although Wen Ran had gained some fame online, for the players who actually played in the professional leagues, it wasn’t enough to make them take him seriously.

“Didn’t we agree to play today? How did their Top Laner suddenly have an emergency? Appendicitis?”

The one speaking was DS’s ADC, Four-Leaf Clover. “Brother Zhang, Team Fallen Spirit’s excuse is a bit too perfunctory, isn’t it?”

“Even if it’s clumsy, they’ve still refused to play with us.” Zhang Xu sighed. “I heard Team White Wolf still has an opening. I’ll try to schedule with them. You guys go online and train individually for now.”

Wen Ran logged into his account and found that Wind was actually online.

After some thought, he finally sent a game invitation to the other party.

Wind seemed not to have rested well; his voice sounded a bit weary. “No scrims?”

“We…” Wen Ran paused before saying, “can’t find anyone to play with.”

Wind gave a soft hum. “Then I’ll help you think of something.”

“No need to go through so much trouble!” Wen Ran was simply overwhelmed by the favor. Why was his idol so good to him?

As a fan, being able to interact and play games with Wind was already satisfying enough. How could he let the man help him with one thing after another?

“I’m not helping you for nothing,” Wind said. “I have some emotional issues I’d like you to help me analyze.”

“Oh…”

Wen Ran had a very strange feeling in his heart. He had already guessed something—it must be about that bastard!

Sure enough, Wind’s voice carried some helplessness: “Tell me, he accepted the gifts and went on the dates, but after the confession, he started ignoring me.”

“Ignoring you?” Wen Ran was in disbelief. Taking someone’s things and then ignoring them—how could there be such a person in the world!

Since it was the person Wind liked, Wen Ran suppressed his urge to swear. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

In his heart, he thought: More than just a bit much, they’re clearly blind!

He couldn’t understand why his idol was acting like a ‘simp.’

In the afternoon, Wen Ran received a phone call saying there was a delivery for him and asking him to go to the base entrance to pick it up.

“But I didn’t buy anything?”

“Mr. Wen, it’s indeed your contact information written here.” The person on the other end emphasized: “Please come down and take a look yourself.”

Wen Ran went downstairs, bewildered. Had Jiang Yan finally reached the point of hating him enough to kick him out of the house?

Had he already packed his luggage for cash-on-delivery?

There wasn’t anyone at the base entrance, only a delivery man in a yellow uniform. As soon as Wen Ran walked over, the other party spoke: “Are you Mr. Wen?”

“I am.”

As soon as Wen Ran spoke, the man took out a small bouquet of roses from the delivery truck. They weren’t red roses, but pale gold champagne roses.

They were exquisitely wrapped, with a card tucked inside.

When Wen Ran took it out, there was a faint fragrance on it. A line was written: “My heart only belongs to you.”

He didn’t even have to think to know who sent it. Wen Ran’s face began to turn red again unproductively. He held the bouquet in his arms. He and Jiang Yan hadn’t spoken these past few days, but later he hadn’t been able to resist secretly checking the messages Jiang Yan had sent him.

Although the other party was usually a bit unconventional, those words were very sincere.

Jiang Yan said he wanted to protect him for a lifetime.

Wen Ran’s heart actually wavered a bit as he read them, but in the end, he still gritted his teeth and rejected him.

They weren’t destined for the same path after all, and someone like him didn’t deserve Jiang Yan.

[If you want to pursue me, you have to pluck the stars for me first.]

After Wen Ran threw out that sentence, the other side hadn’t spoken again.

Three or four days had passed, and Wen Ran reasonably thought that the man probably felt he was being unreasonable and had grown tired of him.

Wen Ran smiled bitterly. Someone like Jiang Yan should be matched with someone gentle and generous, not someone awkward and unsophisticated like himself.

But now, Jiang Yan had actually sent him roses and even said things like “only heart for one.”

Why was Jiang Yan so annoying, always coming to provoke him?

If you keep doing this, I might really take it seriously.

Still, Wen Ran looked around to see no one was there, and then secretly planted a kiss on the bouquet.

“Looks like you quite liked today’s gift.”

A sudden familiar and slightly cheeky voice made Wen Ran whirl around, only to see Jiang Yan.

He was standing there with his arms crossed, looking at him with great interest.

“Tsk, why kiss the flowers? You’d be better off giving me a kiss.”

“You saw wrong!” Wen Ran snapped, shoving the roses toward Jiang Yan. “Take them back, I don’t want them.”

Jiang Yan didn’t take the roses. Instead, he directly pulled Wen Ran by the shoulder. “Little bastard, you’re getting smoother and smoother at being duplicitous.”

He led Wen Ran toward the car. “I’m taking you somewhere.”

“I’m not going!” Wen Ran protested. ” I want to go back!”

Jiang Yan simply leaned over, pulled the seatbelt, and buckled him into the passenger seat, smiling. “Protest denied.”

Jiang Yan brought him to Liqing University.

This was Wen Ran’s first time entering a university campus, especially a top-tier prestigious university like this.

“Our school is quite large. If you want to explore, I’ll introduce it to you slowly next time.” Jiang Yan held his hand and led Wen Ran to a room.

Then he reached out and covered Wen Ran’s eyes.

Suddenly plunged into darkness, Wen Ran couldn’t help but try to pull his hand away. “Jiang Yan, what are you doing?”

“A surprise,” Jiang Yan whispered into his ear.

“Ran Ran, follow my lead for a bit, then open your eyes, okay?”

Wen Ran’s heart was thumping. He urged impatiently, “You’re so annoying!”

Jiang Yan seemed to give a soft chuckle. He had long known that his little bastard liked being stubborn, but if he kissed him enough, his heart would always soften.

Wen Ran stood in place, obediently not moving, but his hands clutching the seams of his pants showed his nervousness.

A gentle voice sounded: “Ran Ran, turn around.”

Wen Ran opened his eyes and turned around, only to be stunned by the sight before him.

The room was almost entirely covered in roses, with only a path left in the middle leading to a piano.

Jiang Yan sat on the piano bench and smiled at him. “Ran Ran, come here.”

Wen Ran had never seen so many roses. The room was filled with the rich fragrance of roses; he even felt like he had entered a rose garden.

Jiang Yan sat with a straight back and an elegant posture, looking like a prince.

After Wen Ran walked over, Jiang Yan directly took his hand and sat him on the bench.

His slender fingers pressed the keys. As the beautiful music flowed out, Wen Ran discovered that lights began to glow among the roses following the rhythm of the piano—twinkling one by one, just like stars.

The afterglow of the setting sun happened to spill onto a small patch of roses by the window, tender and romantic.

When the piece ended, Jiang Yan looked at the flustered little bastard with deep affection. “Ran Ran, I like you.”

“This is the school’s piano room; I rented it,” Jiang Yan said. “Every evening, it’s particularly beautiful here.”

“These stars—can they be considered plucked?”

Wen Ran simply couldn’t imagine it. He had only tossed out a casual excuse, but Jiang Yan had actually taken those words to heart and even specially prepared such a romantic confession for him.

Wen Ran’s nose began to feel a bit sour. “You…”

“In school, I guarantee this is the most suitable place.” Jiang Yan rubbed his wrist. “Of course, if you want me to go to the rooftop and shout ‘Jiang Yan likes Wen Ran,’ that’s not impossible either—it’s just pretty stupid.”

Wen Ran sniffled. “…Why?”

“Ran Ran, I know what you’re afraid of. Afraid that I’m like Li Hao, not truly liking you but just looking for novelty, and afraid of losing what I get.”

“I chose to confess at school because I want to tell you that I’m willing to make everything about us public and give you a sense of security.”

“You…”

Jiang Yan reached out and pinched his nose. “And you claim to be ‘battle-hardened,’ yet you don’t even know how to breathe.”

“I even wondered if you were hesitating to agree because you were worried about being scammed out of your money.”

“But with that little bit of money you have, do you think I’d be interested?”

Wen Ran felt aggrieved. “You… you’re mocking me for being poor.”

“It’s okay.”

“I can support you.” Jiang Yan was still smiling. “Three property deeds, every single one with your name on it.”

His dark history being brought up, Wen Ran couldn’t help but reach out and punch his shoulder, only to be easily caught and pulled into his arms.

Jiang Yan planted a light kiss on the top of his head. “They weren’t steadfast enough, but I will love you forever.”

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