Accompany You Ch 13.1

Chapter 13: Internal Troubles and External Onslaughts (Part 1)

In the evening when Ji Xiangkong sent Qiu Ying home, as the car was nearing the entrance of the neighborhood, he suddenly asked, “I nearly forgot, can I come in and sit down?”

The intense and lingering kiss from before in the kitchen floated up in her head now. Qiu Ying’s cheeks burned red. Who said that a first kiss was naive and sweet? Back then she was so nervous her entire back was drenched with sweat; there were minors outside the door, this guy was too messy!

Seeing that she had no response, Ji Xiangkong repeated his words again. Chills ran up Qiu Ying’s back and her voice was slightly weak, “To my house? It… it’s too late, isn’t it…”

Ji Xiangkong knocked her on the head, laughing. “What are you thinking?”

After he came into her room, Ji Xiangkong went straight to the point. He turned on the computer and downloaded several videos from his cloud storage.

“I originally didn’t pay any attention to Qiao Xin, but after her and your solo game, I went to check her recordings from when she was streaming before.” He opened up a file. It was a compilation of clips from Qiao Xin’s streams. “When normal gaming streamers are streaming their playing, they’ll usually be tense and completely focused in their teamfights. But her whole method is basically just casually chatting with the chat, though her operating on the battlefield doesn’t fall either. Doing two things at the same time — now that’s a wizard.”

Qiu Ying nodded. When she herself was streaming, she was too busy with checking the minimap and lines of troops to put her attention elsewhere. She also had to exchange information with her teammates at all times. Often, she could only say a few words while waiting for her resurrection and in a completely safe situation.

In the video, Qiao Xin chatted with the audience about interesting events that happened while she was shopping during the day. Her eyes weren’t facing the screen. She was obviously chit-chatting, but her mouse was moving back and forth in the shop interface and checking the item information.

Ji Xiangkong placidly said, “Look, she never analyzes her equipment, doesn’t analyze the thoughts behind her actions. What I think is that she herself doesn’t know why she buys this piece of new equipment, as well as what the next equipment will be.”

Qiu Ying’s heart slowly sank. There were hundreds of different types of items, tools, and equipment in Conquer, different heroes had different equipment choices for different stages, and the combat situation played a pivotal role, so no matter whether it was a casual player or a professional one these were all topics worth exploring. And Qiao Xin, a “technical streamer”, actually completely skipped over this. It was truly strange.

“And also, when she streams, she just blindly describes the battle, reacting based on what the situation is.” Ji Xiangkong laughed coldly, sneering. “I have to say, her acting really isn’t bad. It’s just too bad that her words are always half a beat slower than her movements.”

Qiu Ying seemed to realize something. She took in a breath in near-disbelief.

Ji Xiangkong quirked up the corner of his mouth, fingers pressed on the table, and said with certainty, “She should be using a substitute.”

Someone else was operating off to the side, and she was in charge of putting on an act for the camera!

Qiu Ying jumped up from the chair, her face flushed. Her voice went up an octave. “That’s too much! It’s cheating the audience!”

Ji Xiangkong nodded and added, “The person who beat you up in solo mid probably wasn’t Qiao Xin herself, either.”

Instantaneously, anger, shame, grievance, unwillingness to twist herself into just accepting it, surged up.

“This witch! Cheater! Is there any part of her that’s real?” Both of Qiu Ying’s hands balled up into fists as she kicked the chair relentlessly a few times. “I definitely have to expose her! A substitute doesn’t only make fools of the audience, it’s too unfair for other streamers who’re dedicated to what they do!”

Seeing that she was as angry as a cat with its hair raised, Ji Xiangkong got up to pat her head. He advised, “Don’t move rashly. Qiao Xin has so many fans, and she has the management agencies supporting her, as well as being Youxing’s current First Jie. The mud inside her is very deep. Even the head of Conquer in China has an unusual relationship with her.”

A choked expression came onto Qiu Ying’s face. “Isn’t… isn’t she dating Qi Yue?” 

“How can a woman who mixes into the circle like this only have one man?” Ji Xiangkong raised his eyebrows. “Even A’xuan received some of the ‘swimming photos’ she sent.”

Qiu Ying stared, dumbfounded. Her chest undulated violently, like a volcano erupting. She took in a deep breath, then grabbed his sleeve to ask him with a meaningful expression. “Ay, then are her D-cups padded or not after all?”

With this response of hers that was a bit off the mark, Ji Xiangkong tilted his head and laughed so hard his shoulders shook. After a while, he finally composed himself and said, “It wasn’t clear. I just know that you probably aren’t.”

When Qiu Ying heard this, her expression changed. She angrily jumped up to bite him.

As Ji Xiangkong was preparing to leave, Qiu Ying stood at the entryway watching him change his shoes. She thought of how they’d also been at this place several months ago. Half-jokingly and half-seriously she’d confessed to him, and he had tacitly rejected her.

And now, he turned at the door, took her hands that were hanging by her side, and swung them affectionately.

“I’ve taught a lesson to the boys over at Sun ge’s place. I grew up watching Sun ge’s competitions; he’s my idol, even more like my family. That’s why I took you to see him.”

Qiu Ying cutely replied, “Mhm.”

“In a few days I’ll go home to be with my mom for the New Year, then we’ll assemble for training for several weeks, and then it’ll be the Spring Season.”

“Mhm.”

“The way I train is a lot more intense than normal people. I don’t have as much time as ordinary people to be with you, and I retreat into myself whenever I’m thinking about a problem. Maybe we won’t even be able to see each other once a week. Can you keep yourself from missing me?”

“Mhm.” She wanted to become his motivation, not his distraction.

But Ji Xiangkong shook his head. “I can’t keep myself. There’s a delicious candy that I’ve always restrained myself from for fear of becoming addicted. I would be happy just by imagining its taste whenever my heart is uncomfortable. But once I ate it, I discovered that it tastes much better than how I imagined, and I want to keep on eating it.”

He lowered his eyes to look at her, the expression of his eyebrows overflowing with a deep, loving tenderness. “Do you understand what I mean?”

Qiu Ying flushed red. Not daring to meet his eyes, she softly said, “If you play well in the competition, I’ll give it to you to eat. If you don’t play well, there won’t be any. Greedy.” 

Her eyelashes fluttered when she spoke. Her lips were rosy and shiny, her chin pointed. Several strands of long hair fell on her beautiful collarbone, bent into an arc.

“Alright.” Ji Xiangkong’s heart moved. He dipped his head to lightly nip at her earlobe, his muffled voice scattered amidst the sound of a meticulous kiss.  “Here, let’s settle that winning streak of so many games from last season first.”

For the following week, Qiu Ying wore a wool turtleneck sweater every time she streamed.

**

Ever since entering college, Qiu Ying would spend Spring Festival each year at her younger cousin Gu Jiayi’s house. Her mother had already given birth to a son for her stepfather and the new family was harmonious and balanced. On occasion, she would call on New Year’s Eve and drily ask about some of the current situation. The second half of their phone conversation would always, inevitably, turn to blaming Qiu Ying for being too stubborn. If she could be obedient and gain her stepfather’s favor, then how could she be completely cut off from financial support?

Qiu Ying laughed without answering. Since a very, very long time ago, she’d know that instead of waiting for herself to be abandoned, it was better to take the first step, spread her wings and soar.

Because she was gaining higher popularity on Tanuki Streaming Platform, Qiu Ying’s hourly streaming salary saw a sharp increase. Very soon, she would have the opportunity to sign a one-year contract. Not only that, her audience and fans send gifts, the money she made from commentating on competitions was enough to let her live decently, but she never bought luxury items or spent money at will. She put aside this money as a down payment for her future home.

In the evening, Gu Jiayi and Qiu Ying slept in the same room. When their small talk turned toward Xia Ling, according to Gu Jiayi, ever since the time he’d lost to Ji Xiangkong in solo mid, Xia Ling had added Ji Xiangkong on WeChat. If he had free time he’d pester him for a PK.

“Xia Ling said that Ji god’s temper is really good. If he’s free, he’ll play with him so they can learn from each other, and he’ll even tell him to study well, just like an older brother. That was even the first time I heard that poison-tongue praise someone.” Gu Jiayi happily pushed Qiu Ying’s arm. “It’s all thanks to your good luck.”

Qiu Ying smiled without contradicting her. Ji Xiangkong had once praised Xia Ling for being a talented person whose playstyle was very similar to Cris’s, back when he’d debuted. So it was because he wanted to pick up a treasure. 

The two girls lay on the bed watching romance movies. Midway through, Qiu Ying went out to take a phone call. Once she came back, her face was flushed red, and at times she grinned.

Gu Jiayi raised her eyebrows. “Aiyo, was it Ji shuai-ge calling?”

Qiu Ying paid no heed to her and dipped her head to focus on sending a WeChat message, long eyelashes drooping. Her entire face was full of happiness.

Gu Jiayi pounced over to tickle her. “I knew that you guys were doing something indescribable in my house’s kitchen that day. You washed dishes for more than an hour, hurry and explain yourself, what was going on?”

Unable to resist her offense, Qiu Ying updated her on the progress of their relationship. But her smile froze when she heard a certain sentence from her. “Fu Miya wants to go solo?”

“That’s been spreading through the grapevine since a long time ago. Once her contract reaches its term, she’ll immediately leave her group and come back to China to develop.” Gu Jiayi also realized the same point and said seriously, “This time when they came to China was Firework’s first China concert, as well as Miya’s last concert. Ji Xiangkong should likely have been informed about this.”

Qiu Ying’s heart tightened suddenly. Hesitatingly, she said, “When he took me to Firework’s concert, our relationship wasn’t established at all. After it ended and he took me to see Fu Miya, he told her I was his girlfriend… I thought it was pretty weird as well.”

“Ying jie, that you can be happy together with him makes me really happy, but we also have to think about other situations.” Gu Jiayi brought into full play her imagination as a writer of a story. “Dating you at this time as well as taking you to see his ex. Maybe he wanted to tell his ex that he’s already walked out of the shadow of the past and can still do very well even without her, she doesn’t need to worry? Or maybe, he still can’t break off his feelings and wants to use this to break away from the past?”

Qiu Ying pressed her lips together, hard, without saying anything.

Gu Jiayi’s voice grew smaller and smaller. “The worst one is, of course this is a theory, that, he wants to use you to motivate her…”

“He wouldn’t.” Qiu Ying interrupted her. Word by word, she said, “I think that he really likes me.”

Gu Jiayi realized that she had slightly stuck her foot in her mouth and waved her hand over and over. “Right right right, he wouldn’t, he wouldn’t, I was just speculating too, that’s it, don’t worry about it.”

Qiu Ying knew that Gu Jiayi’s worries were not unreasonable. Void Ji Xiangkong was a battlefield fraudster whose words and actions were all thoroughly unfathomable. Back when they hadn’t known each other for long, he had led her around in circles.

So speaking of Ji Xiangkong, he wasn’t a very good person. When he was being gentle, his peach-blossom eyes were affectionate, quietly, carefully holding others in the palms of his hands. And when he ticked up his thin lips deviously and raised his eyebrows, it was so wicked it was heartbreaking.

Lin Yixuan had mentioned that Ji Xiangkong’s emotional state was always a puzzle. Just like how after they’d broken up, he’d still paid attention to Fu Miya so closely that everyone all thought he was a star-chaser. And as for his real thoughts now about Fu Miya, he’d never told her before either.

Qiu Ying looked at the black screen of her phone and slowly, slowly, said, “Gu Jiayi, I’ve never gotten anything at all since I was little. I could only be forced to ask for things everywhere. From long ago I’ve trained my ability to please strangers in order to achieve my goals. But when I face a very important person, I don’t dare to rashly ask for anything. Subconsciously I feel like there isn’t anyone who’ll be completely willing to give me something. I’m afraid that the other person will think I’m annoying, and I feel that way as well…”

Gu Jiayi held onto Qiu Ying with her heart hurting. She heard her breathe in through her nose and softly say, “But this time, I really want to be brave.”

**

In March, the CPL Spring Season officially began. And at the same time, the news that Fu Miya was flying solo and returning to China for development exploded all across the internet. It was at the top of the hot search for a while, followed by #Conquer, #Tanuki Streaming Platform, #CPL, because every Big-V’s¹ latest juicy news was—

[Firework’s popular member Fu Miya signs onto Tanuki, beginning her streaming debut!]

At her fan meeting where she signed the contract with Tanuki Streaming Platform, Fu Miya called herself a gaming fan who often paid attention to esports competitions both inside and outside the country. The one she loved playing the most was the one that was popular around the world, the MOBA game Conquer. After announcing her cooperation with Tanuki, other than regularly chatting and interacting with fans on the mobile client, she would also stream herself playing Conquer in her free time. 

There were many male otakus in the esports circle, and Miya’s diehard fans were innumerable. Now that they knew their goddess was one of them, the otakus ran about spreading the news to each other, like they’d been injected with fresh blood, crying aloud their wishes to hand over their wallets.

Qiu Ying saw that when she was asked about her history of playing games, Fu Miya smiled sweetly in front of the camera. “I often played games with a boy I was close to when we were studying. He hand-taught me about last-hitting, blocking, releasing skills, everything.

The host asked, “Before, you said that you feel particularly good about boys who play games well. May I ask for the reason?”

Fu Miya’s eyes were clear and bright, as if recalling upon a happy period of time. Her words were slow and gentle. “I think that playing team-based battle games can really reflect someone’s personality. That’s to say, if a person can still maintain a steady mind, be calm and composed, in an extremely disadvantageous situation, and lead his teammates to the final victory, then in reality he’s probably also a tolerating and reliable person.”

This one sentence stirred up thousands of waves. The single dogs in chat were dancing wildly and demonically: “My goddess is talking about me! I don’t flame people when I play!”

Perhaps only Qiu Ying knew who on earth the person Fu Miya spoke of was. An image of them sitting in front of the computer, side by side, appeared in front of her eyes. Qiu Ying’s stomach filled up with acid. She shook her head, hard, and told herself, It’s in the past, it’s all in the past.

On the stream, the host asked, “Miya, which esports player do you admire the most?”

Fu Miya’s response came without any hesitation. “Void, Ji Xiangkong.”

Qiu Ying’s heart suddenly tightened. In the following ten minutes, the frenzied explosions of the chat covered the entire screen.

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^{1 Big V as in Verified on social media, in case it isn’t clear.}