Chapter Twenty-Four
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I. Get in bed and sleep?!
That option did not exist in Ning Nanzhou’s mind. They had already slept together once—well, more than once—but those occasions had all happened when they were not fully conscious. How could he possibly share a bed with Chi Yu while sober?!
He suddenly no longer felt sleepy. “I’m going to watch television in the living room for a while. I’ll sleep on the sofa when I get tired.”
Chi Yu reached out and pulled him over. “Staying up late will stunt a child’s growth.”
He was already eighteen!
Yet Ning Nanzhou, already eighteen, was still hauled onto the bed, like a long-tailed tit being bundled into its nest by a black snake.
The bedroom light was off, and the curtains were drawn tightly shut. The room was pitch-black, with only the sound of their breathing.
His heart thudded beneath his chest. He curled himself into a ball, pretending to be calm, which made him look even more like a fluffy white ball—and he was also inching away at a rate of one centimeter per minute.
He silently moved to the edge of the bed. This position made him feel much safer, and Chi Yu’s presence was no longer so obvious. He closed his eyes and drifted peacefully to sleep.
Ning Nanzhou liked sleeping in warm places, especially during winter. He especially enjoyed wrapping himself into a thick bundle. But Chi Yu’s quilt was too thin, and the room was cold.
He instinctively pulled the flimsy quilt tighter around himself, forgetting that he was lying at the edge of the bed. His body suddenly tipped downward.
Oh no!
What adult fell out of bed?!
Just when he thought he was about to hit the floor, a strong arm wrapped around his slender waist. The man caught him with effortless ease.
Ning Nanzhou’s entire body stiffened. Should he push him away?
In truth, there was no need to hesitate. He tried pushing the person behind him, but with his strength, he could not move him at all.
Was Chi Yu asleep?
He did not want to disturb Chi Yu. After taking a deep breath, he did his best to relax, to make himself… get used to the other man’s embrace.
But the man’s breath fell unrestrainedly against his neck, while his long fingers rested on Ning Nanzhou’s sensitive waist. Perhaps he was asleep; that hand habitually tightened inward.
The distance between them grew even closer, and Ning Nanzhou’s ears turned painfully red.
Fortunately, the darkness hid his face. He calmly closed his eyes and began counting sheep.
One,
Two,
Three…
The sleepiness he had suppressed surged over him, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
That night, Ning Nanzhou dreamed that he was wrapped in the coils of a black snake.
A dangerous presence drew closer. He struggled desperately to break free, but the black snake only tightened its hold. Its cold body gradually grew scorching hot…
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The next morning, Ning Nanzhou jolted awake. The sweat from the previous night still clung to his neck.
How could he have dreamed something like that?
The dream had been far too vivid. His body seemed to retain the slick, clammy sensation of having been wrapped in a snake’s tail. The first thing he did after getting out of bed was take a shower.
He entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. Hot water streamed down through his hair.
Perhaps the water had been too hot. After bathing, when he wiped himself dry and lowered his head, he noticed that his skin was slightly red.
After washing up, Ning Nanzhou left the room. Chi Yu had already prepared breakfast.
He did not really want to eat, but compared with being forced into a chair by Chi Yu and made to eat, he chose to sit down on his own.
He had thought that sharing a bed the previous night would be awkward. In reality, Chi Yu’s expression was no different from usual. He drank coffee while reading some documents.
Today was actually his birthday. He really wanted to ask whether Chi Yu was free to have dinner with him, but then he remembered Chi Yu once saying that birthdays were a waste of time. No matter how hard he tried, he could not bring himself to ask.
He suppressed the unrealistic thought, finished his meal, and hurried to school.
His afternoon class was computer science, so he found a seat in the last row and began slacking off.
He logged into the game without starting a livestream, and Ren Xingzhou sent him a message.
[Mystique.Ren] Team queue?
He casually replied that he was in, then teamed up with him using one of the battered computers in the computer lab.
Professional players generally had spectator viewpoints enabled. Even though Ning Nanzhou was not livestreaming, the match he played with Ren Xingzhou was still broadcast in real time.
Zhang Huai of the Huanyu Guild watched the stream and became even more certain of his judgment. This person was skilled, but nowhere near professional level. He could not understand why someone as formidable as Ren Xingzhou would queue with him.
After Ning Nanzhou finished two matches, he sent a message.
[South] I’m done for now.
[Mystique.Ren] Why are you stopping?
While packing up his textbooks, he replied:
[South] Class in the computer lab is over.
Ning Nanzhou offered only that brief explanation, unaware of how greatly it shocked the members of the Mystique team on the other side of the screen.
Advent was a game that demanded an exceptional level of mechanical skill. Most players retired at twenty-four. The only person who had continued playing at twenty-five and still won a championship was Chi Yu.
Naturally, the game also placed high demands on equipment. It did not necessarily require a top-of-the-line computer, but surely no one could expect to play properly on a school computer-lab machine, right?
Liu Xiaopeng suddenly understood. “No wonder FKW and Blue Flame both want him. He can play this well on a computer-lab machine—the kid’s a monster! I just wonder how he’ll perform offline.”
Some people said that online and offline matches were two entirely different things. Offline competitions were more stressful, testing not only one’s mechanics but also one’s mentality.
If he performed just as well offline, Liu Xiaopeng estimated that every team would go straight to his home to snatch him up.
Ren Xingzhou was far calmer than he was. Adjusting his monocle, he said, “We’ll meet him soon enough.”
Ning Nanzhou had no idea what Ren Xingzhou was thinking. After class, he walked out of the classroom, his phone ringing several times.
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He glanced at the caller’s name as the call ended, then headed outside the university.
The area around Shanghai University was lively—or rather, there was nowhere in Shanghai that was not lively. He moved forward through the crowd.
He passed a cake shop, whose glass display window held cakes of every description.
He was not interested in sweets. Yet when he saw the Happy Birthday stickers inside the shop, something crossed his mind, and he still bought a small chocolate cake.
As he was preparing to go home after buying it, an anxious voice called out from behind him.
“Nanzhou!”
He turned and saw Qi Yidan’s face. Unlike the graceful composure she had displayed the last time they met, a trace of barely concealed anxiety now flickered across the woman’s features.
He did not know why Qi Yidan had come looking for him. Had she not been afraid that he would affect her daughter?
Suppressing her panic, Qi Yidan walked up to the young man. “I was too impulsive when I spoke to you last time. After I went home, I reflected on it for a long time. You’re an adult now. I shouldn’t interfere in your life.”
She held out a gift bag. “Today is your birthday. I bought you the racing car you like best.”
“And this watch was chosen for you by your little sister.” Qi Yidan offered him another bag. “She really likes you as her older brother. Every day, she asks when she’ll be able to see you.”
He remembered the lively, innocent little girl. Perhaps she really did regard him as her brother—but how could a child so young know what kind of watch to give someone?
Especially a watch that expensive.
He did not know what Qi Yidan was trying to do, nor did he have any interest in finding out.
Expressionless, Ning Nanzhou continued walking forward. The woman grabbed him by the arm.
“Nanzhou, I know you don’t want to see me, but what happened in the past is over. From now on, I’ll make it up to you. Wouldn’t it be better if we were a family?”
“I heard from your counselor that you moved out. Are you unhappy living in the dormitory? Rent in Shanghai is so expensive. Come home from now on. Uncle Wu has already prepared your room.”
“Let go.” He took a deep breath.
Qi Yidan tightened her grip, as though he were some kind of lifeline.
As the two of them remained locked in a standoff, the cake he had bought fell to the ground.
He stared fixedly at the cake. Qi Yidan still refused to release his arm.
“Come home with us, all right? Apart from us, you have no family in Shanghai. Do you really intend to live here alone, with no one to rely on?”
“Who says he has no family?”
A cold voice came from behind him.
“Will you leave on your own, or would you prefer to be escorted away by the police?”
Qi Yidan stared in astonishment as the long-haired man in black took hold of the young man’s hand.
Her instincts told her that this person would not be easy to deal with. She stopped pressuring Ning Nanzhou to return home.
“Nanzhou, whether you believe me or not, your mother truly wants to make it up to you.”
Ning Nanzhou looked at Qi Yidan without saying a word. If she truly wanted to make amends—though he had no need for her compensation—she should have known that he had stopped liking racing long ago.
After Qi Yidan left, he looked down at the damaged little cake, then turned his head toward Chi Yu.
Watching the silent young man, Chi Yu asked with extraordinary gentleness, “Did you buy it so we could eat it together?”
Ning Nanzhou was just about to say that it was ruined and could not be eaten when the elegant man picked up the battered cake, opened the package, and took a bite.
“Thank you for treating me to cake, little one.”