Chapter 6: When Reality and Dreams Become Enemies (Part 1)
It was already late at night. Qiu Ying tossed and turned, sleepless. She could hear her voice as soon as she closed her eyes: “Should we be together, like that?” “I’m not a serious person either,” “It doesn’t matter if it’s not serious” …
She sprung up from her bed, scalp prickling.
Did my brain crash at that time? How could I say this kind of nonsense?
If she rewound the plotline, she would follow him again, take advantage of his drunk disappointments to bring the beautiful guy back home again, boldly say that she wasn’t a serious person again, then she would say that she wanted to play casually and ask him if he agreed or not. If he seemed to doubt her she would have another plan, to make him think that she was a flirty woman, thus strenuously making her white image black again!
She rolled around the bed amidst a pile of blankets, then suddenly stilled.
Did it even still matter what he thought? She had already been rejected.
Acid pooled within her stomach, tears swirled in her eyes. Qiu Ying got up and felt around in the darkness for her phone, opening Ji Xiangkong’s WeChat profile. She edited her message several times before finally taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and sending it.
“Sorry, I was just joking last night, you don’t need to take it to heart.”
She originally thought this message would be another stone thrown into the sea as usual. Unexpectedly, her phone vibrated soon after.
Ji Xiangkong: It’s fine, go to sleep quickly.
It was four in the morning and he was actually still awake…
Qiu Ying gripped her phone, stunned, wondering if she was dreaming or not. This late… was he training? Maybe she’d woken him up, then should she reply?
She was all tangled up when her phone vibrated again.
Ji Xiangkong: You shouldn’t make this kind of joke with other guys in the future.
His words came too suddenly; Qiu Ying’s heart skipped and jumped up. She tried her best to calm herself down, her fingers slightly trembling as she tapped on the phone screen.
Qiu Ying: “Of course not! I just didn’t want to let you get away with teasing me, I said those things to scare you a little.”
She waited for him to reply “Haha, you really scared me” or “Aiya, if I knew earlier I would have gone along with it, I wronged the beauty who gave me a hug, blood loss!” and then they could both treat this event as a joke and dodge it. In the end, he only replied with the light sentence: “Alright, good night.”
This guy always looked casual on a regular day, but was quite serious when returning WeChats.
The screen went completely dark, but Qiu Ying still held her phone, motionless.
This time, they probably would not contact each other again.
The next few days were overcast. Qiu Ying had no reason to dress up, so she wore a loose tshirt, trousers, and perched a pair of old-fashioned black glasses on the bridge of her nose—her whole body relaxed.
Disregarding the weather, over the past few days, the esports circle continued to blow up with the unusually hot news of the transfers. Insiders said that VPG of China’s three giants had recently been in close contact with Ji Xiangkong. Overnight, the inflammatory post pairing Ji Xiangkong and VPG’s female CEO Shu Wen in a scandal was once more dredged up. The enthusiastic “melon-eating masses”1 gunned it and inspected their clothes, bracelets, and necklaces in pictures; the words dropped during interviews; their interactions on Weibo, no matter how hidden it was. Every bit was thoroughly captured in screenshots.
Unfortunately, the gossip topic was too old; the new information wasn’t enough to keep the audience who in the front row eating melons from becoming tired of the same old things. As soon as they thought that, a fresh piece of news was released, promptly causing a nuclear explosion.
[Conquer’s number one mid of the new generation Summit Pei Xi’s girlfriend exposed!]
[A couple with matching strength!2 Youxing’s valkyrie female streamer Qiao Xin captures the iceberg god!]
Qiu Ying was biting on an apple. When she saw the words “a couple with matching strength” and “valkyrie,” she almost choked to death.
She had most recently been busy with schoolwork and commentary, and had no time to concern herself with developments within the circle. Now, as she thought about it, Qiao Xin had recently become much better at playing Conquer. Youxing indeed was marketing her as a female streamer who was strong. She continued to occupy a place on the homepage’s recommended and her popularity was surging.
Qiu Ying still knew Qiao Xin’s limits, but could it be possible that she had truly turned around her temperament and stopped hugging thighs, playing tricks?
Qiu Ying opened the news about Qiao Xin and Pei Xi and was faced with a longwinded article of several thousand characters. It described in great detail the previous double-queue round of Qiu Ying and Ji Xiangkong vs Qiao Xin and Pei Xi. Pei Xi spent the whole time saving the girl, using his own money to heal her, and attacking wherever she directed him, just like a perfect Chinese boyfriend. There were several pictures at the end of the article. The angle at which they were taken was excellent, as the viewer could clearly see the entirety of Qiao Xin’s coy face, as well as Pei Xi’s profile.
Qiu Ying quickly recognized them. It was the day when they recorded the variety show, after which they were hugging in the hallway.
In fact, the double-queue round that Qiu Ying regarded as a humiliation was enough to prove that Qiao Xin and Pei Xi had an unusual connection, but at the time public opinion had been occupied with Ji Xiangkong and Qiu Ying. Now, because they were revisiting the past, it felt like this had been deliberately orchestrated.
Qiu Ying rolled her eyes. In her heart, she guessed that probably, this chess move of Qiao Xin’s was still pretty good.
If they said that Ji Xiangkong was the esports social flower, then Pei Xi was esports’ flower on a high peak. One curve of his peach-blossom eyes could wreck the female fans’ biases; one cold look on his face could cause them to scream loudly. There were even people who suggested that they form a partnership, The Flower Boys.
But Pei Xi and Ji Xiangkong were different. As the world’s number one mid, he possessed overwhelming individual strength. Even if he lost a game and his horrible data was there, no one would blame him. Adding on to that, he was indifferent and solitary, carrying the god of abstinence’s aura of “females, do not get close to me.” It honestly made it difficult for people to imagine that this sacred person could be tamed.
Qiu Ying idly went down the page. Unexpectedly, Ji Xiangkong’s fans and Pei Xin’s fans were actually duking it out in the comments section.
“Your family’s scum man Ji goes outside to flirt with people, but our family’s Pei Pei is clean as ice and pure as jade!”
“Save it! You can see that facial paralysis Pei is a sullen dressed-up animal with just one look! Finding a girlfriend is just hot online propaganda!”
“That’s still stronger than your family’s scum man Ji finding an old and married woman! A small white face who has no skill but can still eat soft rice!”
“Our family’s Kongkong’s team’s achievements are far better than facial paralysis Pei, experts all know that facial paralysis Pei is just a tumor that swallows resources!”
…
Qiu Ying looked at the all the assumptions, speechless, and couldn’t help but lament that this circle was really so messy. Because the two of them had the same type of outstanding appearance, from time to time, the media would pull them out to compare the two. Of course, the fans felt all sorts of dissatisfaction. In addition, there was the explosive news that Legend had kicked out Ji Xiangkong due to Pei Xi from before. The two groups of fans had, from early on, treated the other party as their lifelong enemies.
Qiu Ying scrolled to the end. Suddenly, a QQ chat box popped up on her screen. From the group of people she’d added in the Conquer circle, there was someone who sent a small message in a window to her.That person was the head of an esports gossip website who spent all day chasing winds and shadows around, relying on rumors and defamation to gain views. Before, after the double-queue incident had passed, this person had used the style of a third-rate pulp fiction to portray her and Ji Xiangkong’s relationship as extremely filthy, which caused a group of people to believe it as the truth and follow the trend to deride her.
No Free Time:3 The post on the website about you and Ji Xiangkong from before, Ji Xiangkong spent money to get me to take it down.
Qiu Ying looked at the chat box, shocked.
No Free Time: He really protects you. I wrote so much about his love gossip before and he never cared.
Qiu Ying: What are you trying to say?
No Free Time: I still don’t believe that you two don’t have thighs. I know you want to become a professional commentator right now, can we meet up?
Qiu Ying: …What are you trying to do?
No Free Time: I really like you! I listen to your voice every day, I really want to hug you tightly, kiss your soft lips, smell your perfume… My website traffic is high. If you agree to me, I won’t write anything bad about you in the future!
In that moment, Qiu Ying became disgusted. Her hand, on the mouse, trembled with anger. She’d caught yet another pervert.
No Free Time: You shouldn’t blame me. You’re so beautiful and your figure is hot, any man would have ideas about it.
Qiu Ying viciously closed the window and blacklisted him. A few seconds later, he sent over a message on Weibo.
“You’ll regret this.”
Qiu Ying was too lazy to waste her words with a bastard and shut down both the browser and the chat window.
The next week was full of work. Youxing promoted the the newly-released mobile game, MOBA, by using its “blazing valkyries” and gathering up its female entertainers to hold an offline event for lucky lottery winners.
Qiu Ying had most recently dedicated herself to researching Conquer’s skills and moreover was too lazy to stage an affectionate sisterly relationship with Qiao Xin. She originally didn’t think about participating, but due to the fact that her ratings hadn’t improved recently and the repeated efforts from site administrators, she finally decided to go to fill up their numbers. After the press conference, they gamed with players, ate, and went to an amusement park. All of their activities were livestreamed on Youxing, filling the chat with wails, howls, and shouts of envy. For a time, the popularity of the new “blazing valkyries” was quite hot.
After a busy day, the hosts celebrated in a KTV box at night. Qiu Ying didn’t want to stay for long, so she found an opportunity to leave early. After exiting, she wandered around, unexpectedly unable to find the way out.
As she passed a secluded hallway, she saw a figure leaning on the wall inside. The boy had spiky hair, slender phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and very thin lips. He wore a white sweatshirt and red pants, along with a pair of red and black sneakers. He was dressed extremely flashily.
She felt like this person seemed a little familiar.
When she reached the exit, Qiu Ying instantly stopped.
It was VPG’s Qi Yue… Why was he here?
Out of curiosity, Qiu Ying lightly snuck back, hid behind the wall, and stretched her head out. Now there was one more person at the end of the hallway. Qiao Xin wore a white V-neck and a skirt with suspenders. Her cloying and coquettish voice fluttered through the air.
“Aiya, didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the old place. Why did you come straight here, aren’t you afraid other people will find out?”
Qi Yue sneered disdainfully. “It’s even better if people find out, or else you won’t forget about Pei Xi.”
Seeing Qiao Xin hug Qi Yue’s neck, Qiu Ying covered her mouth in shock. She had so much luck in encountering this piece of breaking news, it was a pity she hadn’t become a gossip reporter.
As she watched, Qiao Xin snuggled closer. Qi Yue raised his chin, gazing down at her, and then suddenly caught the back of her head with his wide palm to jerk her head to his and kiss her lips.
Qiu Ying, dumbfounded, nearly dropped her phone.
The next afternoon, Qiu Ying went to the high-end internet cafe Dream Traveler to study as usual. During this time, she’d visited frequently and gotten to know a few top players who were regular customers. Unexpectedly, among them there was one who suddenly blocked her in the hallway and without warning, confessed to her.
After Qiu Ying circuitously rejected him, he immediately stopped smiling gently and coldly said, “If you don’t like me, then why did you always talk to me nicely and make my heart beat faster? That’s too much.”
Qiu Ying was confused; she wasn’t especially close to him. At most, she’d just be a little polite while speaking.
The boy narrowed his eyes scornfully. “Or do you find it fun to tease men?”
Qiu Ying opened her mouth, unable to say anything for a while out of shock. She remembered what happened last time between her and Ji Xiangkong and cold sweat trickled down. Did other people see it like this? She was finished, Ji Xiangkong wouldn’t also think that she was seducing him over and over again, right…
Qiu Ying was just about to say something to defend herself when her eyes glanced to the right. In an instant, she was completely petrified. Pei Xi, wearing a cap, stopped and looked at her coldly.
He had heard it all.
Other than the day they had watched the game together in the screening room, Qiu Ying had then seen him twice after that at Dream Traveler. Given that her heart was hostile because he’d resulted in Ji Xiangkong leaving the team, she did not speak with him again.
At this moment, the boy who’d confessed had already left. Pei Xi was still in the same place. Qiu Ying originally wanted to say, “Relax, I have absolutely no interest in him,” but who knew that she would abruptly think of Qi Yue and Qiao Xin’s intimacy. Immediately, her entire face became red up until her ears.
Seeing her flushed from face to ears, her eyes glimmering, and that she’d also stopped talking, Pei Xi frowned, disconcerted.
Qiu Ying finally calmed down, slowly raised her head, and looked at him with eyes full of pity.
Look, the top of this guy’s head is painted green,4 like a lawn filled with the abundance of spring.
Pei Xi looked at her with a little uneasiness. He pulled his brim down and walked straight past her.
Qiu Ying watched him leave from the corner of her eyes and silently added a new label to him:
Qiao Xin’s boyfriend, frivolous mutt with bad eyesight, rude and snobby, and also, forced to wear a green hat.
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1 Eating melon is like eating popcorn, so it’s referring to people who sit on the sidelines and watch the drama
2 门当户对, a term that was used in historical China to refer to a marriage where the respective families of the couple have equal ranking/status
3 Wu Xia in Chinese
4 Those who read a lot of c-novels already know that wearing a green hat/anything to do with the color green is associated with jealousy
lilypad translations 
Yeah what she thought was light flirting may be taken seriously by the recipient, especially in cultures where singles are expected to be romantically reserved🤔
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