Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Luo Qingshan only learned about Pei Ran's fall after finishing his run.

Luo Qingshan was athletic and had left Pei Ran far behind during the run. By the time he reached the finish line and turned back, Pei Ran was nowhere to be seen.

After inquiring from the onlooking classmates, he rushed over without even registering his own result.

Pei Ran paused upon seeing Luo Qingshan, then the sudden chill on his ankle pulled him back to reality.

Yan Zhun glanced at Luo Qingshan and nodded nonchalantly before placing the ice pack on Pei Ran's sprained ankle. "Is this the spot?"

Pei Ran instinctively replied, "Something like that."

Regaining his composure, Luo Qingshan hurried into the rest area. "Pei Ran, Pei Ran, where did you hurt yourself? Does it hurt your bones?"

Upon seeing the injury on Pei Ran's leg, he took a deep breath and grabbed his phone. "I'll call a car to take you to the hospital."

"No need," Pei Ran said. "It's not that serious, just some disinfection will do."

"No, we still need to take an X-ray. What if there's a fracture?" Luo Qingshan insisted.

"There's no fracture, just a twist," Pei Ran said, reluctantly, as he saw Luo Qingshan open the ride-hailing app. "I won't get in the car even if you call one."

Luo Qingshan paused, his fingertips hovering over the screen, then sulkily closed the app.

He glanced awkwardly at Yan Zhun, who was applying an ice pack on Pei Ran without looking up.

"Yan Zhun, why are you here?" Luo Qingshan changed the subject, turning up the corners of his mouth slightly. "Did you finish the 1000-meter run?"

Yan Zhun replied, "Yeah."

"How did it go?"

"I just ran casually."

"It's fine. The ranking doesn't matter, and I didn't expect any awards," Luo Qingshan said offhandedly. "Gamers like you don't usually exercise much."

Pei Ran fell silent for two seconds. Seeing that Yan Zhun remained quiet as if acknowledging the statement, he couldn't help but speak up before Luo Qingshan could continue, "He came in third. The top two were sports students."

Yan Zhun's expression shifted slightly. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, picked up the ice pack, and used the palm of his hand to wipe away the moisture from Pei Ran's ankle before reapplying it.

Pei Ran felt a warmth from Yan Zhun's palm.

Luo Qingshan was taken aback. "Huh? Like this... Congratulations."

His confusion was evident in his furrowed brows. He grabbed a tissue to wipe his sweat, then extended his hand to Yan Zhun. "Thank you for bringing Pei Ran here. Give me the ice pack, I'll take care of the rest."

Yan Zhun finally lifted his head but didn't do anything else. He looked at Luo Qingshan with surprise in his voice. "Didn't you break up?"

The atmosphere turned chilly once more.

Luo Qingshan's expression was a mix of emotions. After a moment, he smiled, trying to appear casual. "That's why I need a chance to prove myself."

Yan Zhun countered, "Why should I give you that chance?"

Luo Qingshan: "?"

Pei Ran couldn't bear to listen any longer. He pulled his foot back. "I won't trouble you both anymore. It's just a small injury, I can handle it myself."

Luo Qingshan still gazed at Yan Zhun with a slightly complicated expression. Just as he was about to ask a question, his phone rang.

It was their class monitor, urging him to return to the sports field immediately for the signature. Without it, his run would be considered void, and his score would be directly canceled.

After asking a few more questions, Luo Qingshan reluctantly left, turning back multiple times with evident concern on his face.

The ice pack was freezing, so Pei Ran merely symbolically held it against his hand before sincerely thanking the person beside him. "Thank you for today."

Yan Zhun acknowledged with a soft "mm-hmm" before suddenly remarking, "You stepped on me quite a few times on the way here."

Walking on one leg was difficult, especially right after the fall when both of Pei Ran's legs were in pain, making his steps unsteady.

Pei Ran met Yan Zhun's eyes for two seconds before looking down at the latter's shoes.

There were clear shoe prints on the white limited-edition sneakers – undeniable evidence.

"I'm sorry," Pei Ran said. "I'll help you wash them."

Yan Zhun was momentarily taken aback. He raised an eyebrow. "You'll help me wash them?"

Pei Ran added, "Take it to the laundry shop. They can clean shoes there too."

Yan Zhun's interest waned. "No need."

He looked at Pei Ran's hands, a pair of very beautiful hands, suitable for painting, playing the piano, and just right for Pei Ran.

Yan Zhun thought to himself, even if Pei Ran really wanted to wash his shoes by hand, he wouldn't let him spoil them.

Pei Ran suggested, "How about I wipe them with a wet tissue?"

"No need," Yan Zhun withdrew his gaze. "Just consider it a favor from me."

Pei Ran faintly frowned, his tone resolute. "I'll buy you a new pair. What's the model of these?"

Feeling the subtle change in Pei Ran's attitude, Yan Zhun gazed into his eyes for a long while before softly sighing.

He turned around, took a tissue from the table beside him, held Pei Ran's wrist, and wiped the ice pack with it. Then, he casually swiped at the shoe.

"There, they're clean. You don't owe me anything."

No sooner had Yan Zhun finished speaking than his phone in his pocket rang repeatedly.

Upon reading the message, Yan Zhun recalled his promise to Lin Xuhuan to accompany them at the training base for a few practice matches today.

Yan Zhun stood up. "Let's go."

Pei Ran lifted his head and looked at him. "Where to?"

"I'll send you back." Without waiting for Pei Ran's response, Yan Zhun took his hand and draped it around his neck. "Hold on tight."

Pei Ran's dormitory was spotless. After his roommate moved out, he had thoroughly cleaned the place, leaving a subtle fruity scent in the air.

After putting Pei Ran down, Yan Zhun left without even closing the door.

Pei Ran wasn't in a hurry. He opened the black bag on the desk, regretting not asking Yan Zhun if he wanted some fruit earlier.

Struggling to make his way to the sink, Pei Ran meticulously peeled the peach. Just as he was about to take the first bite, there was movement at the door.

Yan Zhun returned, holding another black bag. "Here."

Pei Ran asked, "What is it?"

"It's ice cream," Yan Zhun replied. "You can use it to soothe your foot."

Pei Ran chuckled.

Yan Zhun didn't know what had tickled his funny bone. He stared at Pei Ran for a long while. "Why are you laughing?"

Pei Ran shook his head with a smile and took the bag. "Thanks. Do you want some fruit?"

"Yes," Yan Zhun glanced at the fruit in his hand. "Peach?"

Pei Ran hummed in response. After a moment of hesitation, he passed the peach over. "I've washed my hands. It's clean."

As soon as Pei Ran finished speaking, Yan Zhun suddenly leaned in and took the peach, biting into it.

Under Pei Ran's astonished gaze, he swallowed a large chunk of the flesh. "It's sweet."

-

After several training matches, TZG's coach's WeChat was flooded with messages.

"Their questions were all about whether I lured you into the team, calling me cunning for hiding it from them," the coach chuckled. "How funny. If I really managed to get you, wouldn't I be broadcasting it through a megaphone at their base ten times over?"

Yan Zhun leaned back in his gaming chair, engaged in a sniper duel with someone else. Three seconds later, he landed a headshot on his opponent.

"Nice!" The coach leaned against the back of Yan Zhun's chair. "So, what do you think? Will you give me the chance to make that announcement?"

Yan Zhun scoffed. Why did everyone seem to be asking him for opportunities today?

"No," Yan Zhun said. "Keep nagging, and I'll leave."

"Don't, the room's already prepared for you. You can sleep here tonight." The coach was used to this by now. "Then could you come over more often to help them train?"

Lin Xuhuan wailed, "No, you'll shut me down in no time."

The coach replied, "That's the point, so you won't become arrogant. You're always spouting nonsense in your livestream; I bet you think your salary is too low."

"It doesn't matter..." Lin Xuhuan mumbled. "Brother, how many people are in that building?"

After the training match, the others went out for skewers, but as Lin Xuhuan had a sore throat, he stayed behind and begged Yan Zhun to play Duo Squads with him.

"Four players in total, I took down three," Yan Zhun switched to his rifle. "Charge the building."

After the game ended, they were sniped by a hacker, settling for second place.

Yan Zhun found it uninteresting; there seemed to be more and more hackers in the game. Just as he was about to quit, he noticed an online friend.

He immediately sent an invitation.

"Changing your mind? Bro?" Lin Xuhuan asked, seeing that Yan Zhun wasn't prepared.

Yan Zhun replied, "I'm not sure."

Lin Xuhuan inquired, "...What do you mean by 'not sure'?"

Yan Zhun lit a cigarette. "I'll see if he responds."

Before Lin Xuhuan could ask more questions, another player suddenly appeared on their gaming interface. This person was dressed in the default white outfit, clearly a beginner.

"Who's this?" The coach approached cautiously. "From another team?"

He couldn't think of anyone who could make Yan Zhun utter such words.

Through Lin Xuhuan's perpetually open microphone, the sentence reached Pei Ran's ears. It sounded as though Yan Zhun was not in his dormitory at all.

He couldn't explain why he logged into the game late at night. Upon seeing Yan Zhun's invitation, he instinctively accepted it.

Peering at the unfamiliar, colorfully dressed ID next to him, he asked, "Did you invite the wrong person?"

"No, no, I didn't," Lin Xuhuan hastily assured.

He had seen this person, Ranbaobei, in 197's live stream replays – Yan Zhun's boss.

"Get ready, baby Ran. We're about to start the game and carry you."

As they entered the waiting lobby, Lin Xuhuan switched off his microphone. "Brother, isn't this your boss?"

Yan Zhun merely hummed in response, extinguishing his cigarette after only a few puffs.

Lin Xuhuan approached Pei Ran's in-game character. "But from the looks of it, he doesn't seem very wealthy either. He doesn't even have any fancy outfits."

Yan Zhun didn't bother to reply and instead asked through the microphone, "Does your foot still hurt?"

Pei Ran replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Okay, walk less. Skip classes that aren't useful."

Lin Xuhuan commented, "Brother, you're corrupting the boss!"

Pei Ran, overhearing Yan Zhun's casual response to the person beside him, said, "Do you think everyone is like you? My boss is very well-behaved; I can't corrupt him."

The light from the computer screen illuminated Pei Ran's face, revealing the faint pink on his ears.

Pei Ran pursed his lips and couldn't help but take a sip of water.

When Lin Xuhuan and the others first learned that Yan Zhun had become a gaming companion, they were all astonished.

They had even discussed Yan Zhun's rates behind his back. Their sharpshooter mentioned that although Yan Zhun was strong, his personality wasn't something to be admired. It wasn't that he had a bad temper, but rather that he was quiet and aloof. At most, he would charge 110 yuan per hour.

Lin Xuhuan had guessed the highest, predicting two hundred yuan – though he might later get reported and blacklisted by the boss.

After two rounds of gameplay, Lin Xuhuan completely overturned his initial thoughts.

He had witnessed Yan Zhun toss a fully-equipped gun in front of Pei Ran, saying, "Pei Ran, give me a boost."

Gunshots echoed on the mountain like firecrackers. The person who usually ran faster than anyone else at the sound of gunfire was now trailing behind ranbaobei as they scavenged the wilderness, "Wait until he finishes searching the house."

The most outrageous part was yet to come.

After ranbaobei was killed, Yan Zhun wiped out the squad that had taken him down. Then, he pulled out a grenade.

He committed suicide with it.

He killed himself.

He blew himself up...

Lin Xuhuan stared in disbelief at the two boxes lying side by side before him.

After a long while, he turned his head and asked in a faint voice, "Brother, how much... did you actually scam from them?"