novelHypocrite!
| ← Ch.062 | Ch.064 → |
You Liangxing had never experienced a circumstance where his heart was in such a perturbed mess; in one moment, it felt like it want to beat erratically in every direction and in another, it felt stuck in his throat. The oppressive feeling engulfing his chest cavity made his entire body tremble, and he was rendered utterly speechless.
As he ignored Ah Sheng's messages and returned back to the game, the game had already found its match, and everyone had chosen to enter the next phase of the game except him.
Initially, You Liangxing wanted to get kicked out of the game in such a fashion, but he was also worried that Bai Yao would immediately come knocking on his door to ask. Hence, he changed his mind - rather than heralding the tempest early, he may as well prolong its arrival as long as possible.
Truth to be told, in this world, there was no greater natural enemy for You Liangxing other than the person who went by the name of Bai Yao.
Thus, he pressed accept.
When the game officially started, what was unexpected was that neither Ah Sheng nor Bai Yao's avatar showed any changes as the both of them chose not to turn on their speech function. Ah Sheng had an injured throat so he could not speak, whereas Bai Yao basically had no intention to speak.
Flummoxed, the thoughts in You Liangxing's mind accumulated as he tried to deduce the reason as to why Ah Sheng and Bai Yao would queue together.
Recently, there had been news of Ah Sheng and Bai Yao live broadcasting together. Prior to this, Bai Yao had mentioned that playing games was her work tonight. Therefore, the fact that they were practicing together in advance was extremely normal... It was simple logic; why hadn't he thought of it just now?
The regret that slammed into him was turbulent and fierce, suffocating You Liangxing's heart. Seeing that Bai Yao chose to play a middle lane mage while Ah Sheng had opted to play jungle, he chose to fill with the healer Cai Wenji.
In a seemingly peaceful game room, You Liangxing was rupturing inside on his lonesome.
He was terror-stricken as he continued to play the game. Having chosen the position of a healer, he followed the marksman to destroy the bottom lane tower before he converged with Ah Sheng in the middle lane. During the game, he could not help but pay attention to Bai Yao's mechanics.
The last time he had come into contact with Bai Yao's gameplay was back in City A, and back then, she was pure novice, constantly gifting her head to the enemies whenever she played. And after the long period of time that had passed between then and now, her technique and game awareness had improved a lot, and the changes in her overall style was particularly significant.
All in all... it was very bitchy.
She would hide in the brushes and rob people as their lightweight chariot headed down the familiar road, and during team fights, she would hide in the backlines and release her full set of abilities before she turned tail to run, completely mastering the quintessence of Da Ji.
You Liangxing's consciousness was stretched taut as he manipulated Cai Wenji to follow Ah Sheng to run east and west. Abruptly, an announcement sounded in game and stole his attention. Bai Yao's Da Ji had reaped another kill in game, earning her seventh kill in the entire match.
Simultaneously, a message from Bai Yao appeared in the chat.
[Ally Da Ji] Goddess of Kings in Gold: — Ze ze ze, how about it?
He did not know who the question was directed to but You Liangxing was exceptionally susceptible today. Usually he would ignore it; but when he remembered how they ended up in the queue together, he felt the unconscious need to coax her.
For the first time, You Liangxing replied: — You played very well.
Once the reply to her question was sent out, a new message emerged from Ah Sheng's end.
[Ally Li Bai] don't want to move: —......
The meaning behind his series of ellipsis was incomprehensible. Bai Yao raised an eyebrow: — Why? What are you trying to say?
[Ally Li Bai] don't want to move: — Nothing really.
[Ally Li Bai] don't want to move: — Just that you're slightly worse than me.
Bai Yao: —......
Bai Yao had always been a laid-back person who like cracking jokes. Although she had only been acquainted with Kang Shengzhe for a few days, she was more at ease with people who treated her normally as compared to those who were courteous to her because of her celebrity status. Thus, she was not offended in the slightest and she even ridiculed him back: — Pei, Disgusting and Shameless.
As he watched them casually converse, You Liangxing, who was sandwiched between them, felt extremely uncomfortable. One game passed like this and he felt like every cell in his body had slowed by a few fractions. It hadn't been easy to tide over the game, and yet Ah Sheng and Bai Yao sent him another invite. At the same time.
&#k2013;&#k3010;Goddess of Kings in Gold&#k3011;invites you to participate in a multiplayer ranking.
&#k2013;&#k3010;don't want to move&#k3011;invites you to participate in a multiplayer ranking.
You Liangxing: "&#k2026;&#k2026;"
In one night, they opened five matches and attained five consecutive victories. In the fifth match, Bai Yao and Ah Sheng chose Da Ji and Li Bai respectively and winning was a breeze. However, You Liangxing felt incomparably tired inside, as if he was a lamp that had been exhausted of its oil.
The only comfort he had was that apart from the first game which had textual communication, the other four had passed in a quiet manner, with no words exchanged.
Although the game had ended, You Liangxing did not dare to breathe. He frowned and waited. Sure enough, in a few seconds, Bai Yao's message on WeChat immediately arrived.
[Her Majesty the Queen]: — Didn't you say you weren't going to game with me?
You Liangxing felt like air was being trapped in his chest. His eyebrows scrunched together, and in the face of the oncoming tempest, his strong body looked incomparably thin and weak.
It was coming....
Surrounded by the ferocity of the maelstrom, [Her Majesty the Queen] finally gave her sentence: — Hmpf! Hypocrite! 〖Covers Face Shyly〗
You Liangxing: "......"
You Liangxing felt his reaction slow, and he hesitated for two seconds before he replied: — I...
In the eyes of Bai Yao, his hesitation and delayed response was extremely cute; initially, when You Liangxing had rejected her invite, she had felt a sense of loss, but she never expected that he would still join her later. The inconsistency he displayed did not irk her, on the contrary, it had uplifted her mood.
That's right, perhaps it was the work of extraordinary luck, but the course of events had given rise to a subtle misunderstanding in Bai Yao's perception.
After she entered a game room with KK, she had sent an invitation to You Liangxing too and her younger brother had accepted it soon after. As a natural consequence, she never thought about whose invitation You Liangxing had accepted, nor was she aware of the fact that KK and You Liangxing were already acquainted with one another.
The misunderstandings that had surfaced were truly beautiful.
[Her Majesty the Queen]: — I knew Ah Liang loved me. Hm, it's better if we played by ourselves next time, KK is too bright a lightbulb. Hateful.
You Liangxing:......
Afraid that You Liangxing did not understand, Bai Yao continued to explain: — I forgot to mention it but the person who played with us was MengMao's anchor KK. I heard that his fans were not few, and he can be considered as famous. Maa~ He's slightly worse than me.
After reading her message, You Liangxing came to a quick realisation. As a result, his body loosened, and the sensation that he had survived a calamity overcame him.
He answered to the rest of the conversation on automatic, the constant stress and destressing of his mental state indescribable. However, when the messages from his older sister had yet to end, Ah Sheng came knocking to make his own ruckus.
[Ah Sheng]: — Hmpf, hmpf, hmpf! 〖Folded Arms〗〖Re-folding arms〗〖Passed Away in Anger〗
You Liangxing: —......
Are you sick?
It was apparent that Ah Sheng was not ill, but he certainly was fuming with anger.
[Ah Sheng]: — You really do like Bai Yao.
You Liangxing: —... Where did you observe that from?
With quick hands, Ah Sheng sent over a screenshot which comprised two sentences from the first game's text channel.
[Ally Da Ji] Goddess of Kings in Gold: — Ze ze ze, how about it?
[Ally Cai Wenji] Little Angel Liang Liang: — — You played very well.
[Ah Sheng]: — Do you have something to say?
You Liangxing:......
None whatsoever, goodbye.
You Liangxing did not reply for a while and Kang Shengzhe, who had been waiting for his reply, was slightly impatient. Soon after, he sent a set of expression packs to display the different stages of his grief.
[Ah Sheng]: — You're not even trying to coax me~
You Liangxing:......
You Liangxing: — Are you poisoned?
[Ah Sheng]: — No.
[Ah Sheng]: — But I have a poisonous heart~
You Liangxing felt the pain in his head grow fiercer.
He told himself to calm down. Abruptly, he felt that this scenario was inexplicably familiar upon careful scrutiny; when he compared the matter of Ah Sheng concealing his identity as an anchor to Bai Yao being his older sister, he found that they were similar in the sense that they seemed to miss out on the opportunities to clarify.
It was strange for him to take the initiative but he did not want to cause a misunderstanding. After considering for a bit, You Liangxing typed: — Actually, Bai Yao is in the room next to me.
[Ah Sheng]: — In the room next to you?
You Liangxing was solemn: — En.
[Ah Sheng]: — Do you have a poster of her in the room next to you?
You Liangxing:......
He convinced himself not to blow a fuse. If someone had brought up such a fact so abruptly, it would naturally be hard to believe. He tried to explain again: — I know Bai Yao.
Ah Sheng's message arrived quickly: — I know her too.
You Liangxing:......
You Liangxing: — What I mean to say is,
You Liangxing paused, preparing to give an extensive explanation. However, before he could send his message, Ah Sheng had already interrupted him with his own.
— Let's not talk about that first, why did you only praise her and not me? Liang Liang is a hypocrite, Bai Yao is obviously your type. 〖Aggrieved〗〖Extremely Aggrieved〗
Train of thought broken, You Liangxing refuted his claims out of conditioned reflex, throwing the want to clarify his relationship with Bai Yao to the back of his mind.
— No, she is not my type.
[Ah Sheng] - Then why don't you ever praise me.
You Liangxing:......
What did not liking Bai Yao have to do with praising Ah Sheng? Despite having narrowly escaped, You Liangxing felt like he was being dragged down again a few sentences into his conversation with Ah Sheng. After having his emotions be put through the grinder of anxiety and exhaustion, to the present moment where he was now terribly upset, You Liangxing wanted to hit someone.
His fists were itching to have a go.
Irritably, You Liangxing typed: — Is praise necessary when you are already that skilled?
His words were more lethal than a direct compliment and Kang Shengzhe basked in it for a while. Pleased with himself, he stated: — Yes.
You Liangxing:......
Defeated, You Liangxing paused for a moment before he typed: — You're the best.
In that instance, Kang Shengzhe felt like his spirit had reached a higher plane of existence. Only when the experience ended, did the contents of his message return back to normal: — For the next few nights, I have to play with Bai Yao, will you still be joining?
You Liangxing's brows twitched as he replied: — Not joining.
His answer was particularly decisive, and both parties sensed the delicacy of the moment. Kang Shengzhe typed: — I was just joking just now, are you really not joining?
You Liangxing: — Not joining.
Kang Shengzhe paused: — Why not?
You Liangxing: — It's better to play as two.
His reply was frank and natural; and compared to deliberately saying it out loud, it was more piercing to the heart. Kang Shengzhe's heart jolted from the overflowing joy. Impulsive, he could not resist saying: — Do you like me that much?
You Liangxing replied: — I'm saying it's better for Bai Yao and me to play as two.
Kang Shengzhe: —......
You Liangxing: — She added me as a friend after she finished the game.
Kang Shengzhe: —??? Ah???
You Liangxing smiled slightly: — I was joking.
Kang Shengzhe was startled and he felt feeble all over. His head was still fluttering with fear when he said: — You actually know how to joke, you scared me. 〖Crying〗
You Liangxing rarely made jokes, but he felt that making them once in a while did not feel too bad. After getting back at Kang Shengzhe, You Liangxing felt like some equilibrium had been restored in his heart even though the degree of the joke he used was not equivalent.
Since it was late at night, You Liangxing and Kang Shengzhe bade each other good night after chatting for a while more. Before they slept, Ah Sheng voluntarily brought up the subject:
— The live broadcast with Bai Yao that is happening the day after tomorrow, will you be watching it?
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