Chapter 55 - In love?
Thank you Quivo for the Ko-Fi~
You Liangxing could not resist smiling. However, his laughter was deliberately suppressed, and only a smile remained on his face in the end. Truthfully speaking, he felt that if his laugh were to be heard by the other party, the other party’s tail would wag up to the skies.
It was wagging high enough as it was.... But he did not find it annoying.
The game ended quickly due to Kang Shengzhe’s Peiqin Hu snowballing and sweeping through the entire match. Within minutes, the enemy’s crystal nexus was brought to a close, and what aggrandised it was the fact that before the crystal nexus exploded, Kang Shengzhe jumped into the opponent’s fountain to welcome a grand and spectacular death.
“An absolutely objective review of the enemy’s fountain: five stars. A place that is rich in natural resources and good for committing suicide, recommended for humility and truly worth visiting~ Won’t you come and give it a try~”
You Liangxing: “Not going.”
Ah Sheng was full of regret: “Yi? So clear-cut? Ying ying ying~”
In You Liangxing’s social circles, there was a 1.8 metre robust male decked out in a crew cut who would occasionally fake sob to him and afflict him with a great deal of torment on a regular basis. Yet, Ah Sheng’s current attempt to sell cute to him did not make him feel a deep sense of irritation.
Therefore, You Liangxing endured for two full seconds before he punched the ying ying monster to death by leaving the game before starting another soon after.
Entering the hero selection screen, the heroes that they chose differed from their previous choices. Before You Liangxing could lock in a hero, Kang Shengzhe chose a mage by the name of Ying Zheng, and You Liangxing followed after with the hero Kai and took smite in order to play the role of the jungle.
With their positions switched, the core of the team became You Liangxing instead. Anchor KK was not flustered by the development in the least, and he even went as far as to brag unabashedly with skill and ease, “As everyone in the audience can see, a player called Liang Liang has decided to play jungle, which has the burden of having to carry the entire match. Are you excited because I am very excited. However, we can’t get too ahead of ourselves; when we meet a reliable teammate, we have to be fully aware of what position we have to fill in order to synergise with them! En, let me see, in this match, I’ll be in charge of looking pretty while you take us to fly! Brother Liang Liang, it’s all on you.”
You Liangxing: “......”
You Liangxing: “Are anchors allowed to play like this?”
Kang Shengzhe replied: “Of course not, most anchors can’t play as well as I can.”
You Liangxing: “......”
Having had most of his attention stolen by Kang Shengzhe, the game officially began as they were conversing. It was only then that You Liangxing take note of the opponent’s line up which was fairly strong. In the opponent’s team, they had Genghis Khan, Nezha, Guan Yu, Xiaohou Dun and the last of which was Zhang Liang.
After being teased by Kang Shengzhe once, the notion that he could not lose prickled, and he controlled his hero Kai to cooperate with the ally marksman down at the bottom lane to catch someone off guard after he had cleared his jungle. From the beginning of the match, he seized the rhythm and controlled it.
“Look, look at how skilled our jungler is...”
Kang Shengzhe’s voice held a hint of laughter and he continued to tease endlessly by using different methods to praise him. As his words landed in his ears, it gave rise to an inexplicable feeling in You Liangxing, and he snapped, “Shut up.”
Kang Shengzhe chuckled and the short note was capable of making a person’s scalp tingle. At that moment, a shiver went through You Liangxing’s entire body.
A jungler was responsible for controlling the entire match, and naturally there would be times where he had to pay attention to Kang Shengzhe’s situation in the middle lane and he managed to catch sight the player manipulate Ying Zheng in an eye-catching fashion. With both of his feet lifted in mid-air, he seemed to look down on all living creatures, and even though he only had two bars of health left, he refused to recall.
You Liangxing remarked, “There’s a heal available behind you.”
Under the allied outermost defensive towers of all three lanes, a cross-shaped heal would periodically generate and it could heal a portion of the hero’s health once it was consumed. And since Kang Shengzhe seemed to have no intention to recall, You Liangxing gave him a word of reminder.
However, Ah Sheng had always been prideful. “A good anchor doesn’t use heals; I’m not consuming this heal, I won’t consume it even if I die.”
You Liangxing: “... Oh.”
His voice had yet to fade when a red mark appeared over You Liangxing’s Kai and Kang Shengzhe’s Ying Zheng concurrently, and the mark above Ying Zheng’s head congealed into a swirling vortex in a blink of an eye.
You Liangxing stiffened. Ah Sheng was about to be knocked up.
The players who played King’s Glory were aware that the heroes in the King’s Canyon all possessed a different multitude of abilities; in the case of Nezha, the hero could mark his enemies and choose one of them to fly to, regardless of physical obstacles in between. It was very effective when it came to taking down enemies with low health, and the previous red mark that had been established was obviously an attempt to probe for his and Ah Sheng’s locations. And between a full-blooded Kai and a Ying Zheng who only had a fraction of health left, it was unsurprising that the enemy Nezha would choose the latter without any hesitation.
The distance was a thousand li in King’s Canyon, but it was not too far away to take away a dog’s life.
You Liangxing hurried over to the middle lane while reiterating again: “Take the heal first.”
Judging from the amount of health that Ying Zheng had left, Nezha could probably end him by just ramming into him with his ability alone, and his spear would be completely unnecessary.
Kang Shengzhe, however, did not hide or dodge, and neither did he consume the heal. Laughing softly, he said: “Am I a person who would ever take heals? Why should I be afraid of one Nezha? If he has the ability to send me flying, he can try and make me fly.”
While he was speaking, the enemy Nezha who was glowing red flew directly towards the allied crystal, and he was getting closer and closer!
Imbued with a spirit that could conquer mountain and rivers, Kang Shengzhe declared: “Come at me!”
Somehow, his words reminded You Liangxing of a meme that had been popular on the internet, of a martial arts practitioner going into his fighting stance as he beckoned his opponent with a finger and roared out the same line like a lion. In the split-second where he had been distracted, Kang Shengzhe’s Ying Zheng soared as he released his ultimate.
Ying Zheng’s ultimate was a continuous release of light swords towards a targeted direction which lasted for a few seconds. While the damage output it had was significant, it came with the limitation that he could only move left and right, but the projectiles’ direction could not be fired backwards after casting. If the enemy managed to go behind him as he was channelling his ultimate, he would be easily destroyed.
That, however, was not a cause for concern with Kang Shengzhe’s accurate timing; the enemy Nezha flew right into the line of fire for his light swords, and from beginning to end, not a single one missed.
You Liangxing was shocked. Right before his eyes, a full health Nezha flying over only lived to be stabbed by his light swords at point-blank range, and his health was rapidly shaved off as he approached Ying Zheng. And when he finally did reach Ying Zheng, he slammed to the ground with a loud thud, ultimately meeting his demise.
He died.....
He just up and died....
He had ran over with a great momentum in hopes of reaping a low health opponent, and yet, before he could even touch Ying Zheng, he died! Putting aside the likes of You Liangxing who was quick to anger, even if it was anyone else, they would have sighed with feeling or be enraged to death.
After his strong display of skills, Kang Shengzhe laughed out loud, both proud and cheerful. In You Liangxing’s opinion, his reaction should be repaid with a spanking. “Hahahahahaha did you see that, aren’t I skilled? It’s okay, you can put down your hands, you don’t need to applaud.”
You Liangxing: “......”
The enemy Nezha was evidently aggrieved as a text appeared in the all chat.
[Enemy Nezha]: — .......
[Enemy Nezha]: — You’re good.
Kang Shengzhe said: “Good vision~”
His voice was very telling of how proud he was, and You Liangxing decided to stop looking at the mini map. However, at the last second, as Ying Zheng was about to move away, the minions who were entering the tower range lightly hit him once. Then, the Emperor through the ages, Ying Zheng, groaned and... died.
Kang Shengzhe: “......”
You Liangxing: “......”
You Liangxing: “Anchor, you were killed by minions.”
Kang Shengzhe: “I didn’t! I wasn’t! Don’t speak nonsense.”
At that instance, You Liangxing could no longer hold it in and he burst out laughing, and he laughed for a few seconds straight without stopping. His voice echoed back in the voice channel, and it sounded cuter and more feminine the longer it was heard.
You Liangxing asked: “What do fans usually do when they’re in a good mood?”
Kang Shengzhe had already tossed the embarrassment derived from being killed by the minions to the back of his mind in the midst of You Liangxing’s laughter. Feeling wonderful, he said: “They line up to call me husband.”
You Liangxing: “......”
Kang Shengzhe: “......”
Kang Shengzhe: “... Don’t hang up! I’m kidding! I was wrong! Don’t go!!”
You Liangxing: “......”
Despite being annoyed, he did not leave, nor did he hang up. Kang Shengzhe let out a ‘hehe’ before he said: “When the fans are in a good mood, they tend to give me gifts. Why, are you intending to give me one?”
You Liangxing said: “Giving.”
Straight-forward and decisive. It made Kang Shengzhe pleased, “Oh? How much are you giving?”
You Liangxing revealed a smile, “En, we’ll start with 5200.”
Kang Shengzhe did not understand the true meaning behind the 5200, but he was not like others who would yell about the nouveau riche either. He did not think too much into it when he said, “5200, can you bear to?”
You Liangxing: “.....”
Withdrawing his smile, he said faintly, “Please shut up, thank you.”
* * *
When they finished gaming, it was exactly half past ten. But due to the fast-paced nature of entertainment mode, forty-five minutes was more than enough for them to play five or six rounds, which coincided with the number of games they usually played.
After the last game had ended, Kang Shengzhe’s throat was a little dry and the two of them left King’s Glory and returned back to WeChat.
According to the usual flow of events, all that was left was a mutual exchange of goodnights but both of them remained dead silent for a while, neither taking the initiative to say it first.
In the end, it was still Kang Shengzhe who typed in: — Tomorrow evening, xxxx coffee shop.
The time and place were thrown out directly, eliminating the need for confirmation and the negotiation of details. Both of them were men, there was not much to consider either way.
You Liangxing replied: — Okay.
It went quiet, with no one uttering a word for a good while.
Ah Sheng typed: — ... A little nervous.
You Liangxing could not help but smile. He had been smiling frequently as of late, so he allowed the smile to remain on his face. Pondering, he replied: — See you tomorrow.
Not ‘Goodnight’ but ‘See you tomorrow’. See you tomorrow, see you tomorrow – who knew the world had such three delightful words?
The aftertaste stayed with Kang Shengzhe for a long time, and he was smiling when he replied:
— See you tomorrow.
The world became silent again. You Liangxing shut his phone off and when his line of sight fell onto the stack of information next to him. His mindset towards it, however, had went through an unexpected and large change.
It was still not the time where he would he chronically sleep in university so You Liangxing leaned against his headboard and looked through the information once more. And because he was extremely focused, his read through had taken him more than an hour before he was aware of it and his throat was now dry. Thus, he got up and went downstairs.
The lights were still on downstairs. In the living room, Bai Yan and You Ming were sitting together with their red wine half-drunk, and Bai Yan had a tipsy expression on her face as she was pillowed on her husband’s shoulder. It was obvious that they had yet to sleep.
They were still the same as before; every year on their wedding anniversary, the pair would always stay awake together until the very last second.
You Liangxing moved across the dining room to fetch a glass of water. Before he turned back to return to his room, he stopped and looked at his father a while.
“Yes?”
You Liangxing stated, “That project, I want to do it.”
You Ming was neither shocked nor pleasantly surprised. He calmly nodded his head and You Liangxing walked away since he was done speaking. However, before he walk a few steps, he turned back again.
With his undisguised actions, how could You Ming not discern it?
“Speak.”
You Liangxing: “... I have no money left.”
Initially, You Ming had his eyes closed, but in the next second, his eyes wrenched open to stare at his own son with astonishment. Truth to be told, after raising his son for many years, this was the first time he had asked for money on his own accord.
While he was staring at You Liangxing, his mind spun for some time. Gently, You Ming helped his beloved wife to one side before he pulled You Liangxing into the corner of the corridor.
In a corridor that was without lights, a pair of father and son, both tall in stature, gazed at each other silently.
You Ming queried, “In love?”
You Liangxing: “......” No.
His son’s silence implied the negative. You Ming continued to ask: “The five thousand you had?”
You Liangxing: “... Used for a gift.”
The slant of You Ming’s eyebrow was best described as giddy like he understood where his son was coming from. From his expression, it was apparent that he had affirmed that You Liangxing had found a girlfriend.
The two men were not fond of talking and their communications were concise. You Ming dug around his pockets and handed over a card, saying: “Your mother’s birthday.”
You Liangxing nodded and the two continued their stare off. Since his son had nothing to say, he contemplated for a long moment before he opened his mouth to say: “A man must have vision; and if you really like someone, remember one word.”
You Liangxing: “......”
You Liangxing felt speechless but he decided it was too troublesome to clarify the circumstances with You Ming. Rather than trying to justify himself, he chose to listen to the rest in a calm and collected manner.
You Liangxing: “What is it?”
You Ming’s dogma was but one word: “Buy.”
You Liangxing: “......”
The dialogue came to an abrupt end as You Ming twisted his head and walked away. You Liangxing stood rooted to the ground for quite some time before he returned back to his room and gazed at the black card while his mind wandered elsewhere.
He could no longer ignore it. Recently, there were way too many people that had asked him the same question.
... In love?
He was not in love.
He just wanted to see his friend.
You Liangxing snapped back to his reverie as if someone was tolling a loud bell in his head. Right, he had to meet Ah Sheng tomorrow, he should sleep early.
You Liangxing switched off his lamp and after closing his eyes for a period of time, he sat up suddenly.
..... He decided he had to go through his closet to look for something to wear tomorrow.
A whisper from the translator: Hun, why the hell you lyin’~
Also the true meaning behind 520: I love you. Because 五二零 (wu er ling) kind of sounds like 我爱你 (wo ai ni), except... YLX probably didn’t mean it... yet x)
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l