Chapter 5: The Truthful Lies (Part 2)
There was no light in the dim room; the curtains were pulled tight. Ji Xiangkong slid heavily down the door, taking off his coat to cover his face.
A few days later, overwhelming news swept the online news portals.
[Legend hopes to win the championship! Void Ji Xiangkong leaves the team!]
[Legend.Xuan Lin Yixuan sent to the secondary team! The suspected reason, challenging the higher management over Ji Xiangkong!]
And also—
[The reason why Ji Xiangkong was kicked out is recognized: former VPG member Summit Pei Xi confirmed to join Legend!]
These three news headlines were enough to be developed into an annual drama. As she scanned through the complete articles, Qiu Ying’s face was full of disbelief.
In the analysis post discussing “Ji Xiangkong leaves the team,” which collected the information from all around, it pointed the finger at Pei Xi, and the club officials also tacitly proved this: Legend reorganized with the intent to use Summit Pei Xi as their absolute core. Ji Xiangkong was not in the team’s future plans.
With professional teams’ member adjustments, the core members’ opinions were highly valued internally. The unknowledgeable truth- and drama-seeking crowds expressed their guesses that Ji Xiangkong’s departure was Pei Xi god’s condition for agreeing to join Legend.
Remembering the situation in Dream Traveler when Pei Xi had sincerely said, “I have always hoped to be his teammate,” Qiu Ying temple ticked.
This person kept talking about his admiration for Ji Xiangkong, but the result was that he directly made him leave the team…
A thousand words came to her mouth, which could be precisely summarized in one sentence: “Worthy of being called Qiao Xin’s boyfriend!”
Qiu Ying closed the window and opened up WeChat on her phone, knocking out a pile of inspirational and encouraging words to send to Ji Xiangkong. She was not expecting a reply, but if he could see it and feel a little better, her heart would be completely content.
Qiu Ying put down her phone and lightly sighed. Life was truly full of peaks and valleys. For example, she had been born pretty, and since kindergarten there were boys fighting with each other in order to play building blocks with her. And now, the school flower who had been surrounded by people was reduced to having an unrequited love. Miserable, miserable, miserable.
Zhang Ailing once said, When you like someone, you will be humbled down to the dust; but your heart will be joyful, and from the dust will bloom flowers.1 After she identified her own thoughts, she worked each day with extreme motivation. Besides making money and completing her education, she would also go forward one step at a time on the road to becoming a well-known Conquer commentator.
Qiu Ying followed many people who uploaded informational Conquer videos, and so she watched the videos, took screenshots, and rewound over and over in order to deepen her understanding. When it was time to stream at night, she cancelled the singing and dancing session and began to commentate on the video of a previous game.
“From the beginning of the round til now, Team A’s mid’s Q skill has kept on missing. I guess that this player is pretending that he can’t use Q at all in order to confuse the enemy.”
Qiu Ying switched the perspective over to the bottom lane.
“This one is a very stable player, I’ve very rarely seen him make mistakes.” She had just spoken when the dear brother on the screen suddenly stopped and released an ultimate in the direction of nobody, a fatal mistake.
The livestream chat instantly covered the entire screen—
“666666!”2
“Such a stable player, hahahaha!”
Qiu Ying said without changing expressions: “It’s a strategic miss! To mess up the enemies’ positioning!”
“The streamer is starting to talk nonsense with open eyes again!”
“Pretend that you can’t use Q, strategic miss, you’ve learned it all!”
“I will quietly watch you fumble around, I don’t know how to prove you wrong at all…”
At first, she was full of holes and the entire screen was constantly filled with attacks from the chat. Some people cursed her, saying she spoke nonsense and gossip when she hadn’t even reached rank King. She was not angry, and took the initiative to invite a master to analyze the round with her.
Over time, going to Qiu Ying’s livestream room to find bugs within her commentary became a piece of fun for the male otaku players of Conquer.
Whenever Qiu Ying accurately reported the skills of the heroes in a team fight in order, the audience would festively send her a cruise ship. Qiu Ying couldn’t keep herself from holding on to the possibility that Ji Xiangkong could be in this group of people. That he could be folding his arms in great interest, watching her step by step, clumsily and staunchly, running toward him, the corners of his mouth lifted in a small praising smile.
Qiu Ying ended the stream and buried her face in her palms in exhaustion.
She didn’t know how he was doing right now.
The day of their reunion came faster than she imagined.
On the weekend, Qiu Ying went to the city center for a class get-together. As she was going back home, it was already late. She got off the light rail and slowly walked back home, crossing the roads when the light turned green. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure in front of her, a flash of him amidst the crowd.
Stunned again, the crowd became turbulent, the hustle and bustle noisy.
When she came back to her senses, Qiu Ying had already taken a step forward, doing her utmost to search for his silhouette. Finally, at the next corner, she found her target. Her eyes were slightly red, but she hadn’t yet felt happiness when she froze in place.
Ji Xiangkong was in front of her, to the right. Although she could not see his face, she could still visualize the cynical smile always present there. He carried several women’s shopping bags in one hand, and the other hand was idly stuck in his pants pocket. By his side was a woman who looked to be several years older than him, long hair like a waterfall, and a beautiful figure.
They were extremely close to each other, arms nearly touching. The beautiful older sister turned her head to say something to Ji Xiangkong. He leaned down, putting his ear close to her mouth intimately.
Qiu Ying opened her eyes wide, watching Ji Xiangkong raise his eyebrows. She didn’t know what he was saying, but the other person was smiling while angry, raising her hand to smack him. “I’m asking you for business, be more serious!”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Ji Xiangkong raised the corner of his mouth and said, relaxed, “No need to hurry, haste makes waste.”
The beautiful older sister glared at him. “Never serious the whole day long, only you dare to talk to me like this.”
Several cars flew past on the roadside, the smoke choking Qiu Ying’s throat. She covered her mouth to keep herself from coughing. Acid began to swell in her stomach, but the saddest thing was, she realized that she was not in a position where she could be sad.
In the days where she could not see him, she had no way of knowing who he was with or what he had experienced. His life’s minutiae, joys, and sorrows; the songs that he heard; the scenery along his path— she did not know them at all.
Qiu Ying thought of leaving the place quickly, but the thoughts that flooded her were beyond reason. She silently followed them, mind blank, unable to envision what the end of the road would look like.
When they went their separate ways, the beautiful older sister reached out and patted Ji Xiangkong’s head. “Xiangkong, my mind has never changed. As long as you are willing, my house’s entrance is always open for you.”
Ji Xiangkong obediently bowed his head, his voice slow and soft. “I know.”
Seeing that he was walking in her direction, Qiu Ying lowered her head and walked. She had not gone far when she hit a sturdy chest. She raised her head, shaking, and met Ji Xiangkong’s nearly-laughing face.
She went left, he shifted to the left; she went right, he then shifted right. Qiu Ying flushed, knowing she couldn’t hide, so she coldly said, “Gentleman, can you let me go?”
Ji Xiangkong narrowed his eyes and looked at her with great interest. “You’ve followed this far and only now want to escape?”
“I saw the news that you were kicked out of Legend and was worried about you.” Thinking of Ji Xiangkong’s intimate actions with the beautiful older sister, a bit of bitterness burst inside Qiu Ying’s heart. “But now you seem to be pretty carefree.”
**
The milk tea and dessert cafe was playing the Korean girl group Firework’s new song. All around them were young people in groups of two and three, happily laughing and talking with each other. Ji Xiangkong cut a piece of strawberry tiramisu and brought it to his mouth, raising his head to look at Qiu Ying to continue the conversation. “My value as a professional player was effectively rejected by the club boss; because of me, the very best of my brothers is being frozen out; I am unable to carry out the request my captain entrusted me with before he retired. Do you think I’m carefree?”
This series of words caught Qiu Ying off guard. She anxiously shook her head. “I just saw… I, I spoke carelessly… in the end, what happened?”
Ji Xiangkong’s eyes dimmed and he lowered his head, using his fork to aimlessly poke at the tiramisu. He did not answer the question. “You shouldn’t send me any more WeChats. The account I left you is an alt, I don’t use it often.”
“What?”
“You’ve just started as a newcomer commentator. It’s best if you don’t have any involvement with me, since it will negatively impact you.” He stopped. “If you want to stir up some gossip, you should probably find someone like Pei Xi.”
When he said the two words “Pei Xi,” he used great force to insert the fork into the tiramisu; his strength was too heavy, and the entire tiramisu collapsed.
Qiu Ying blinked dumbly, unable to understand how he suddenly turned the conversation toward Pei Xi.
Ji Xiangkong had probably drunk some wine; his expression was not as calm and casual as it usually was, and his words were unpredictable. It wasn’t long before he also asked, “Are you very familiar with Pei Xi?”
Qiu Ying had an inexplicable guilty conscience. “No, we only watched the competition together before…”
She had not yet finished speaking when Ji Xiangkong’s expression fell, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Qiu Ying’s heart trembled; she didn’t know if she had said something wrong or not, but could only watch as Ji Xiangkong abruptly stood up, hands in his pants pockets. He looked down at her chillily and her back was cold.
After a while, he said expressionlessly, “Am I similar to what you learned?”
Qiu Ying was stunned, then immediately shook her head fiercely. “Not at all. And you’re a lot more handsome than him.”
“Your mouth is so sweet.” Ji Xiangkong’s tight face loosened at once. He threw a wink at her. “You’re also much prettier than that Qiao whatshername Xin.”
Qiu Ying slapped the table. “Don’t compare her to me!”
Ji Xiangkong sat back down, teasing, “Can you actually chat with him and not think that you’re talking to a wall?”
“Not at all, we were mainly talking about you.” Qiu Ying lifted her head as she remembered, “He said more than me, all praising you.”
“Can a paralyzed face praise people?” Ji Xiangkong sneered dismissively and cleaned the plate. After a long while, he abruptly moved forward to nudge Qiu Ying with his elbow, his eyebrows drawing together. “How did Pei Xi praise me? Quick, tell me well.”
Qiu Ying laughed at his expression and didn’t say anything, pretending to be pretentious. She didn’t expect him to deflate. His long eyelashes, like fans, cast a shadow on his face.
After a long time, he finally spoke.
“Before captain Cris left, he handed over Legend to me. I had just promised him, and then the club kicked me out. I understand that they are eager to win and want the top operating players like Pei Xi…” Ji Xiangkong smiled mockingly. “I have always been a person with both good and bad reviews. The leader did not lie, most people have no way to understand me. My professional career has been full of ups and downs, and I often doubt if I’m really suitable for esports or not. Even so, I’ve survived. But, this time, because of me, A’xuan was forced to become a substitute for the secondary team and his best years will be wasted in vain. It’s… I’m so sorry.”
Qiu Ying’s heart also tightened. A professional player’s golden years were only a short few years. How tortuous it was to be unable to fight on the battlefield.
“That year, Legend did not intend to have me join them. It was captain Cris’s solitary decision. Because of me, this year, the captain has been slandered and been questioned; they say he’s covering up, short-sighted, and naive. Each time we lose a game, he’s also under tremendous pressure…”
Ji Xiangkong gripped his head fiercely, fingers deep into his hair. “I don’t care if other people say I’m trash, a tumor, the weak point of the team. But if my existence implicates other people…”
As she saw him trapping himself in this terrible mood, Qiu Ying immediately interrupted him. “So you need to work even harder and rise! What’s wrong with being rejected? Whoever looks down on you, you just need to use the fact to fiercely slap them in their faces?” Remembering the coarse sprays of water and hate comments online, Qiu Ying sprung up with a clatter as if a fire had been lit within her chest. “Captain Cris believed in you to the very end, and hoped you could replace him in the field to continue onward. He is Conquer’s top person, is that still not enough to affirm your worth?”
She took a deep breath, her whole body trembling slightly from emotion. “Those who say you are the weak point and trash aren’t even at the level of a grade schooler, they don’t know anything! No matter the industry, only the elites stand at the top of the pyramid. Most people can never reach your height, of course they can’t understand you!”
Ji Xiangkong raised his head, stunned, to look at Qiu Ying, at the beautiful girl who had, just a short time prior, been curled up in a ball like a small injured animal in the park at the city’s heart. And now, her elegant eyebrows were pressed together, flushed eyes covered in a thin mist, her lips tightened and loosened again, as if the one who had encountered this string of misfortunes was not him, but herself.
He wanted to pat Qiu Ying’s shoulder to calm her down, but before he could do so, she grabbed his arm. She sniffed and looked at him with eyes shining. “Come with me.”
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Footnotes:
1 Zhang Ailing, or Eileen Chang (1920-1995), a Chinese writer who is famous for her sad love stories. She wrote the original quote on the back of a photograph for her first husband, Hu Lancheng, another contemporary writer: “When she sees him, she becomes low, low down to the dust. But her heart is joyful, and from the dust blooms flowers.” Later on, he developed the specific wording in this line based on her words in his book This Life, This World.
2 Online Chinese slang, since the Chinese pronunciation of 6 is homophonous with the word 溜, liu, which means good. The more 6s, the more emphasis.
lilypad translations 
Ying’er: 😠😡🤬
Kongkong: 😳
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