"Charge, charge, charge!"
"The cooldown for Skill One is short, use that first!"
"Holy crap! What kind of pro move was that?! He used his ult? Is he trying to force mine out?!"
"?! I'm coming, Siyang! I'm rushing over to heal you, just hold on a bit longer—sorry—I couldn't save you..."
Gu Yirou started off teaching gently, but as time went on and the match reached its second half, her competitive streak clearly flared up as she watched Zhang Jin'an rack up four kills. Her speaking speed grew faster and faster, occasionally peppered with a few phrases in a Shenyang accent.
Jiang Siyang could understand her at the beginning, but later on, he couldn't quite keep up. His gameplay became frantic and confused, like a little featherless noob.
Actually, scratch the "like." Jiang Siyang watched his character's health bar plummet and thought as much, stealing a quick glance at Zhang Jin'an.
Zhang Jin'an sat with his legs crossed, his phone resting on his thigh. His head was lowered, eyes fixed intently on the screen as his slender fingers tapped away. His expression was incredibly calm, as if he were just doing some online shopping.
After watching for a few seconds, Jiang Siyang returned his focus to the game.
"Siyang—after you trigger Skill Three, tap Skill Two twice to clear the mobs. I'll save up an ult, and when Zhang Jin'an shows up, we'll hit him together..." Gu Yirou shouted.
Jiang Siyang really didn't catch that last part and had to interrupt her. "Sorry, Teacher Gu, I didn't quite follow that..."
Gu Yirou immediately realized she had been talking too fast and slowed down considerably. "No worries, no worries. I got too caught up in the moment and forgot I was supposed to be guiding you. I was saying, use Skill Three on the mobs, then Skill Two. Those two have short cooldowns and are area-of-effect skills."
"Okay," Jiang Siyang obediently moved his character toward the mobs and followed her instructions. Under the Swordsman's special effects, more than half the mobs were cleared out.
"It actually works!" Jiang Siyang exclaimed.
"Right? I've used this character before; this combo is super effective," Gu Yirou said proudly. "Don't use your ult yet. When Zhang Jin'an comes, we'll use them together."
Gu Yirou's commands clearly came from a veteran player, and she taught Jiang Siyang quite a few maneuvers. Unfortunately, the Zhang Jin'an on the opposing side was simply too skilled; Jiang Siyang would often get picked off before he could even execute a move. When he remembered Gu Yirou saying earlier that Zhang Jin'an had slowed down his attack speed today, Jiang Siyang felt like he played even worse than he thought.
It wasn't that he was afraid of losing; he just felt bad about dragging his teammate down. After all, what did his teammate do to deserve this?
Jiang Siyang sighed. He really wasn't cut out for video games.
After playing for about fifteen minutes, the round ended. Zhang Jin'an secured the final victory with a score of 5:3.
Jiang Siyang felt an inexplicable sense of relief and let out a long breath. "It's finally over—"
"Sigh..." Gu Yirou comforted him from the other end. "Don't be too discouraged. You did great for a beginner. Don't lose heart; Zhang Jin'an is a veteran who's played for a long time. Even I can't always beat him."
Jiang Siyang hurriedly said, "Thank you for teaching me so much, Teacher Gu."
Once the match ended, players could speak freely in the public chat. Jiang Siyang saw a message from Zhang Jin'an pop up.
[Room—Jin: Teacher Gu, we haven't seen each other for a few days, and you've gotten rusty, haven't you?]
[Room—Gentle Blade: ...?]
[Room—Gentle Blade: Siyang, help me beat him up.]
[Room—Midnight: I wouldn't dare.]
[Room—Gentle Blade: Don't be a wuss, I've got your back.]
[Room—Jin: Don't forget the 'game stays in the game' agreement.]
Jiang Siyang took off his earphones and asked, "Agreement? What agreement?"
Zhang Jin'an placed his phone on the table, uncrossed his legs, and stretched his neck. "We team up often, right? To keep the peace and prevent gaming from ruining our friendship, we set a rule: 'What happens in the game stays in the game.'"
Li Qiang, who had been checking schedules with Xiao Zhou, couldn't help but interject, "That rule was tailor-made specifically for you."
Jiang Siyang asked, "Why?"
Zhang Jin'an smiled and shook his head.
Li Qiang, seeing through everything, said, "If it weren't for that agreement, given how smug Jin'an sounds after a game, it'd be a miracle if he hadn't been beaten to death by now."
Jiang Siyang looked at what Zhang Jin'an had sent. He didn't think it was particularly smug. "...I think it's okay."
Zhang Jin'an clapped his hands and said, "See? See? Finally, someone sensible. Qiang-ge, look at that. The people's eyes are sharp; I clearly sounded perfectly fine."
Li Qiang: "...He's the only one."
Xiao Zhou chuckled. "Siyang, I suspect that no matter what Big Brother says, you'll think it's fine."
"That's not true. I just have a high level of tolerance. As long as it's not a personal attack, I think joking around is fine," Jiang Siyang said truthfully.
Zhang Jin'an nodded in agreement. Li Qiang truly had nothing left to say and finally waved them off. Everyone laughed.
Jiang Siyang looked at his phone again; Gu Yirou had sent another message.
[Room—Gentle Blade: Siyang, do you want to join our gaming group? If you want to play and Zhang Jin'an isn't around, you can find people in the group.]
[Room—Midnight: Is that okay?]
[Room—Jin: It's fine. Su Zhiyang started the group; he likes it when there are more people to make it lively.]
[Room—Gentle Blade: I'll add you on WeChat then.]
[Room—Gentle Blade: I have to go record a show now, so I'm logging off. Bye.]
[Room—Jin: Safe travels, Teacher Gu.]
[Room—Midnight: Goodbye.]
Jiang Siyang exited the game and opened WeChat to find he had been added to a group.
"Sec-Second Textile Machinery Wholesalers Group?" Jiang Siyang looked up suspiciously.
"Because... forget it, explaining it makes it sound like I'm giving him free advertising. Just ask Su Zhiyang yourself," Zhang Jin'an said.
Jiang Siyang looked at the group messages with confusion.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: I'm here! Let me see who's joined us now! [Fireworks]
[Xiaonanshan Tour Guide Zhang Jin'an]: It's Jiang Siyang @℃
[℃]: Hello everyone.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: SIYANG!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S YOU!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE PLAYING GAMES NOW????????????
[Xiaonanshan Tour Guide Zhang Jin'an]: I brought him in. You're off today?
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Junior Brother?!
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Just got off work. Are you envious? Are you jealous?
[Xiaonanshan Tour Guide Zhang Jin'an]: ?
[Xiaonanshan Tour Guide Zhang Jin'an]: You've been expelled from the sect, thanks.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: I'm not listening, I'm not listening.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Siyang, change your nickname.
[Jiang Siyang]: Done.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: No, that doesn't fit our group's style.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Siyang, where are you from?
[Xiaonanshan Tour Guide Zhang Jin'an]: Shanghai.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Let me think of one for you [Thinking face] [Thinking face]
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Shanghai Stock Exchange Director Jiang Siyang.
[Shanghai Stock Exchange Director Jiang Siyang]: ...That sounds like a pyramid scheme.
[Chengdu Challenger Qian Shan]: Well, now that we have a Director, we really can start wholesaling.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Yoooooooo, Shan-ge, long time no see!
"Teacher Qian Shan?" Jiang Siyang let out a small gasp.
He had seen Qian Shan's work; he was an excellent actor, particularly skilled in historical dramas. Liu Wenping had speculated that he would be a candidate for this year's "Best Actor" award.
They were all formidable people.
[Shanghai Stock Exchange Director Jiang Siyang]: Teachers... I have a question.
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Hmm? Go ahead.
[Shanghai Stock Exchange Director Jiang Siyang]: Why is the group named this? Isn't it a gaming group?
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: Speaking of this group name, there's a story behind it that dates back three years...
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: It was a dark and snowy night...
[Chengdu Challenger Qian Shan]: Su Zhiyang was afraid his manager would find out he was playing games, so he changed the name to this.
"Oh..." Jiang Siyang nodded. "But does that actually work?"
"Of course not. His manager found out ages ago. It's just an ostrich policy; don't mind him," Zhang Jin'an said.
Jiang Siyang looked at the group members. Including himself, there were twelve. Aside from Zhang Jin'an and Gu Yirou, who were friends, the others like Su Zhiyang and Qian Shan were seniors he had only seen on TV. It felt like a little fan had accidentally stumbled into a celebrity group chat.
However, judging by the conversation, these seniors all seemed quite friendly. Jiang Siyang couldn't help but relax a little.
[Shanghai Stock Exchange Director Jiang Siyang]: Got it [OK gesture]
[Chengdu Challenger Qian Shan]: Good that you understand. No need to thank me [Big Sow emoji]
[Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord Su Zhiyang]: ?
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
近战物理奶妈 | Melee physical healer | A gaming term for a support character that fights in close quarters.
菜鸡 | Noob / Rookie | Literally "vegetable chicken," slang for a bad or inexperienced player.
欠 | Smug / Provocative | Slang for behavior that is annoying or teasingly asking for a reaction/beating.
二纺机店批发商群 | Second Textile Machinery Wholesalers Group | A nonsensical group name used to hide gaming activity.
温州皮革厂地主 | Wenzhou Leather Factory Landlord | A reference to a famous Chinese internet meme about a factory boss.
小南山旅游向导 | Xiaonanshan Tour Guide | Zhang Jin'an's humorous group nickname.
上海股票理事长 | Shanghai Stock Exchange Director | The humorous group nickname given to Jiang Siyang.
成都最强王者 | Chengdu Challenger / Chengdu Strongest King | Qian Shan's group nickname; "Strongest King" is the highest rank in games like Honor of Kings.
掩耳盗铃 | Ostrich policy / Burying one's head in the sand | A Chinese idiom meaning to deceive oneself.
传销 | Pyramid scheme / MLM | Multi-level marketing; used here to describe the shady-sounding nickname.
