Chapter 78
In the game client, Yu Sui sent Shi Luo a prompt urging him to queue for a match. Shi Luo's right hand was still covering the webcam. He stayed still for a few seconds before finally releasing the camera, picking up his mouse, and clicking to continue queuing.
In the livestream frame, fans could clearly see Shi Luo puffing out his cheeks and slowly exhaling.
Looking closer, they could also notice that their always-cool-and-snarky Shi Luo's gaze was avoiding the camera. Looking even closer, they could spot that Shi Luo's eyes were slightly red.
That wave of drama Yu Sui had stirred up was hitting way too hard—not just the haters, but Shi Luo's own mental state had been affected.
Several times during the match, Shi Luo had wanted to send Yu Sui a WeChat telling him to stop. Shi Luo could always feel Yu Sui's intentions. As possessive as Shi Luo was, he didn't need Yu Sui—who had stopped streaming ages ago—to fight his battles against haters and stake ground for him this way.
Too flashy, too blatant. Though it was exactly the kind of thing they'd do at their age, being in this industry where every player had to grow up fast, and Yu Sui had always avoided talking about his personal matters—why would he suddenly break his own rules for Shi Luo?
But Shi Luo couldn't bring himself to interrupt.
He really wanted to hear it.
Yu Sui had never said these things to Shi Luo before.
He was always curious about the little details of his boyfriend's life before they knew each other.
What had Yu Sui—the younger, nineteen-year-old Yu Sui—done and said back then? Shi Luo desperately wanted to know.
This queue was taking a while. In Shi Luo's headphones, Yu Sui was talking without any reservations, still going on about it.
It sounded like he was interacting with the livestream chat.
"Did my conscience ache from deceiving him for so long? Of course it did."
"I'm particularly close with Shi Shen's cousin. I knew his cousin's family was pretty well-off, so I just assumed Shi Shen was also a rich kid, a few generations removed. At first, when I scammed him out of some pocket change, I didn't think it was a big deal—I scammed his cousin for even more. Yeah, I kept taking their money. That family really had bad luck meeting me."
"But actually… Shi Shen didn't have money back then."
"He hadn't even turned eighteen yet, had no allowance to begin with, and he'd run away from home. He didn't even have a contract as a streamer—where was he supposed to get money from?"
"But he still transferred me breakfast money every day. And I actually kept accepting it… How could I possibly have been short on breakfast money? I'd already been a pro for four years."
Remembering how Yu Sui had pretended to be a elementary school student back then, complaining about being hungry, Shi Luo couldn't help but smile.
Yu Sui had really acted it out too well.
"He was afraid if he gave me too much, I'd spend it all at the internet cafe, so he transferred exactly once a day, ten yuan every time, rain or shine, once a day… So every day I had to suffer through a bout of conscience."
"That money was so hot to hold onto… I wanted to come clean to Shi Shen several times, but was afraid he'd fly into a rage and block me or disappear on me."
"I was afraid he'd run out of money. I was afraid he wouldn't know where to sleep at night. I was afraid a kid out there alone would run into bad people…"
"I was really too young back then. First time meeting someone like this, I cared about him but thought too much, worried too much, was too careful. I was also afraid he'd fight with me… So I let him stay out there alone for all those extra days."
"Now? If it were now, I'd just drive to whatever internet cafe he was gaming at, block the door with my car, go in and drag him out. If we needed to argue or fight, we'd do it back at the base. Too dangerous out there."
"If it were now, I'd never let him suffer like that."
Shi Luo's throat tightened. He rubbed his neck, quickly clicked to cancel queuing, and cleared his throat. "Gonna use the bathroom."
With that, he grabbed his phone and left the training room.
The moment he stepped out of the training room, Shi Luo's eyes instantly turned red.
He really wanted to hear what Little Scumbag had been thinking back then, but he just couldn't take it anymore.
With his back against the wall, he hadn't been able to stop Yu Sui. He'd opened the camera reluctantly, thinking he could control his expression—but he'd been a bit too confident.
Shi Luo glanced left and right. No one in the hallway. He turned and went to his own dorm room, closing the door before opening Yu Sui's livestream on his phone.
Yu Sui's livestream had too many viewers. The chat was scrolling so fast Shi Luo couldn't keep up.
【TAT Having both of them live simultaneously is too much. My Shi Zi can't hide any of his expressions. Little dummy thinks he's keeping it together.】
【Evil's stream is empty! Evil's stream is empty! Evil's stream is empty!】
【So good!! Yu God please continue! Shi Shen just went to the bathroom anyway, keep going keep going!】
【What's going on here? Are you sure Whisper is just talking about touching teammate camaraderie? Something feels off…】
【The forum's exploded. Whisper's talking about feelings for the first time in six years, and the target is Evil—his on-and-off rival from the same team.】
【Damn, I'm crying. Any old fans left? Anyone remember Yu God driving thousands of miles to take Shi Zi to his college entrance exam? Yu God even livestreamed it, everyone was laughing at Shi Zi, and now I realize Yu God was basically introducing us to his little dude?!】
【If these two are really together… suddenly it all makes sense. And I wanna tell Shi Zi, just stay老老实实 with your captain. After going through this high-level scumbag, you won't feel anything for anyone else in the future…】
【CP fans control yourselves! Keep spamming or he'll stop! Whisper please continue please continue… I've always been so curious about what happened before you two fell out!!】
【While Evil's gone, talk about stuff he did back then! Talk about stuff he was afraid you'd reveal!】
Shi Luo turned off the chat. On his phone screen, Yu Sui's game client interface was visible, Yu Sui's mouse cursor drifting aimlessly. His voice came through the livestream app, sounding slightly different than usual. Yu Sui seemed to be watching the chat too. With a hint of a smile in his voice, he said, "Shi Shen isn't here?"
Shi Luo froze. Somewhat embarrassed… Yu Sui had definitely guessed he was watching the stream.
In the livestream, Yu Sui's voice was soft. "Fine, let's just pretend he's not here."
"He was perfect in every way back then. I don't have much dirt on him. My record is worse."
"I really did think he was perfect back then."
"Did we fight before I went to Holy Sword? Of course we did."
"Was the head injury from him? Of course not."
"There were rumors back then that we came to blows. All fake. No way… He looks fierce, but he only curses at people sometimes. He wouldn't actually hit."
"That injury was because I'd just gotten out of the hospital for a stomach bleed. Low blood sugar. I fell on my own."
Shi Luo's eyes burned. Upon hearing this, he lowered his head and smiled.
Yu Sui wore a scumbag's mask for show, but only Shi Luo knew how gentle and considerate he really was.
In the livestream, Yu Sui covered the lie perfectly. "He did get angry with me and might have shoved me a few times—someone probably saw that. One传十 ten传百, and it turned into nonsense…"
"Why the shoving? He wouldn't let me leave."
"Because at that time, going out meant going to sign the contract that would transfer him to NSN."
"Shi Shen back then… was just a kid. To stop me from leaving, he pushed the couch in the base's first floor in front of the main door, slept on that couch himself all night, and the next morning when Chen Huo went to pick up takeout, he had to climb through the window."
"After solving the door problem, he hid my car keys… In the end it was Lao Qiao who fished them out for me. Lao Qiao lost a flip-flop fishing those keys."
"Was I angry? Why would I be angry? I was the one who brought him here, and in the end I didn't take good care of him. What right do I have to be angry?"
"I'm not angry. I'm heartbroken."
"When he suffers, my heart breaks."
"When he fought me desperately to stop me, my heart broke."
"When his face changes after a lost match now, my heart breaks too."
"I've said enough now. Anyone who didn't understand our situation before should get it now."
"I don't usually talk about this kind of thing in public. This time I'm saying everything that needs saying. I've taken full responsibility for Shi Shen since I brought him into this industry. Whatever happens, I'll handle it. From now on, whether it's waiting for him after matches or anything else—no need to be surprised anymore. It's all normal."
After saying this, Yu Sui comforted his fans a bit more, saying he'd give his all in the upcoming matches, then said goodnight. And amid a flood of pleas to stay, he ended the stream.
In his dorm, Shi Luo wiped his eyes with his wrist and took a deep breath.
One chat comment had hit the nail on the head—after being in a relationship with Yu Sui, you wouldn't easily fall for anyone else.
How could this person be so good?
He'd cleaned up the drama for Shi Luo, and had even shared some old stories from the past.
When they were alone together, they almost never talked about the past—afraid it would hurt. Yu Sui himself wasn't comfortable digging up his own black history.
This time, Shi Luo finally got to hear it.
He put down his phone, went to the bathroom, and splashed water on his face. For the first time since the loss to Saint, he felt this good.
Shi Luo dried his face and heard a few knocks at the door.
His ears turned slightly red. Without even opening the door, he knew who it was.
Shi Luo ran his fingers through his hair, hesitating. He glanced at the room's light switch.
During normal training hours, his dorm light was always on. If Zhou Huo or Lao Qiao saw otherwise, they might come ask questions.
Right now, Shi Luo really wanted some time alone with Yu Sui. Didn't want to be disturbed.
Shi Luo walked out of the bathroom and turned off the room light.
Remembering what had happened the last time this situation occurred, in the darkness Shi Luo's ears burned red.
Yu Sui really knew how to play this game. Last time he'd pulled Shi Luo into his room, turned off the lights, and nearly driven Shi Luo crazy. Shi Luo took a light breath, his heartbeat slightly quickening.
Shi Luo opened the door, but felt a bit shy. He only opened it a crack.
Shi Luo leaned against the wall, his neck already flushed.
He waited a few seconds. The person outside didn't come in. Shi Luo rubbed his neck, reached out, and nudged the door, making the crack slightly wider.
Another half minute passed. Still no one entering.
Shi Luo frowned slightly. Just as he was wondering what new trick Yu Sui was up to, he saw the person outside raise a phone with the flashlight turned on, and forcefully push his door wide open.
Lao Qiao, phone held high like a torch of justice, shining his righteous light upon Shi Luo.
Lao Qiao stared at Shi Luo, confused and bewildered.
Shi Luo: "……"
Lao Qiao looked at Shi Luo, wanted to speak, stopped himself, wanted to speak again, stopped again.
After a long moment, Lao Qiao said, incomprehensibly, "Since you're in your dorm! Just open the door normally, right? Why would you suddenly turn off the lights? And you only opened it a crack—this is…"
Lao Qiao really couldn't take it anymore. "Though I've joked before that our base is like a brothel, you don't have to be this vague and ambiguous just to open a door."