The anchor I was supposed to meet turned out to be my student.

Unexpectedly, Mo Jia snorted lightly, as if venting her anger at being humiliated by Luo Yao that morning, and said disdainfully, "Him? He's just a counselor at school, how well can he do..."

Then everyone became even more embarrassed, but embarrassment was secondary; they were more in a spectator's mood.

I'm getting shot even though I'm not doing anything right. I'm speechless. Can't we at least have some dignity after a breakup? So I retorted sarcastically, "I may not be doing very well, but I have a legitimate job training people. At least it's better than being a parasite, right?"

Mo Jia could tell I was being sarcastic, and she did indeed rely on Xu Kun to have her current glamorous life, so she blushed instantly.

Liao Zhengyang finally understood why Mo Jia and I broke up, and his stance became completely firm on my side. He said on my behalf, "Tu Sheng really misjudged you back then!"

At this moment, Guan Hao, who had been keeping quiet and not putting any pressure on the people present, came to the rescue: "Alright, alright, we forgot to say one thing. Let's part amicably. Today's gathering is for having fun, not for causing trouble, right?"

"Tusheng, hurry up and move! The enemy is pushing towards the lane!"

Ye Zhi's voice was urgent and sounded quite abrupt in the quiet atmosphere.

(I owe four chapters. I'll probably make up for it by updating a lot on the homepage this Saturday when it gets featured.)

Chapter 53. I'll give you matching couple skins.

Ye Zhi's reminder made me instinctively glance at my phone. My Sun Ce was stationed at the second tower in the top lane, while the enemy Mi Yue was already demolishing it, and Ye Zhi's Da Qiao was completely helpless against Mi Yue. (The hero selection was slightly modified in the previous chapter.)

Unlike others who treat games as mere entertainment, I take them very seriously as a competition. Even when it becomes a 1v9 situation, I persist in playing. Therefore, I never press surrender. This is my attitude towards competition. So I immediately got into the zone and didn't care about the strange looks people around me and Ye Zhi were giving me.

As we were playing, Ye Zhi stopped moving. I looked up and glanced in her direction. She walked over to me and said to the boy next to me, "Can we switch seats?"

The boy was both excited and a little uneasy when Ye Zhi, the most dazzling person in the room, suddenly spoke to him. Although Ye Zhi was asking a question, her tone was full of an undeniable sense of refusal. For a moment, he nodded blankly and then quickly stood up.

"Sure, sure, please have a seat..."

"Thank you."

So Ye Zhi naturally sat down next to me, and the people around us looked even more incredulous. The students from the two classes were sitting at two separate tables, and her meddling made things chaotic. Of course, it's possible that beautiful girls have special privileges, and since everyone was an adult, they were too embarrassed to say it directly.

Ye Zhi moved her chair closer to me. I was afraid she would fall onto my lap without considering the situation, because she always did that when we played games together... But thankfully, she knew how to be considerate of the situation and only moved a little closer to me.

I could notice that Guan Hao looked at me with a surprised expression, as if he was surprised that Ye Zhi and I knew each other, and that we were so close that he asked her to switch seats to play games with me.

"Why are you looking at his phone?" Ye Zhi said, displeased.

"Ah? Right, right..."

I rejoined the battlefield and began conquering the central route aboard a wrecked ship.

"Slow down, wait for me..."

"How can we wait? I need to use my ultimate skill to rush to the rescue."

Ye Zhi walked slowly from the top lane to the mid lane to provide support, complaining: "Why didn't the official team add another spot on the ship? That way I could sit on it..."

I think we should drill a hole in your forehead, your imagination is so big... Speaking of which, Ye Zhi is like a completely different person when she plays games. She becomes a chatterbox, much more lively than usual, which is completely different from her appearance.

Although the game was going smoothly, our marksman was still complaining that the support Diao Chan wasn't with him, asking if we were a couple and that's why we had to be together. He kept nagging and it was so annoying.

Ye Zhi glanced at me, but I couldn't be bothered with that marksman. As long as we could win, I didn't care who his support was.

Why don't you buy Sun Ce a skin?

"Isn't the Ocean Conquest skin I redeemed with these skin fragments one?"

"No, I meant the Cat and Dog Diary one."

"I don't like anything flashy or fancy, and it costs money." I'm not a KOL (King of Pays) expert.

"Look, I even bought Da Qiao. She's pretty cute, and it's only a few dozen yuan. I bought all the heroes and skins in less than 30,000 yuan."

I gasped. This was the first time I'd ever heard of someone spending money to buy all the heroes and skins, and still complaining it was too cheap... Seriously, the world is so big, you don't know there are so many amazing stories in the world until you go out and see it.

"Forgive my poverty..."

"It's okay, I'll give it to you when we go out, that way no one will bother asking if we're a couple anymore," Ye Zhiruo said casually.

"..."

The game ended in an easy victory. I turned my attention away from my phone and was about to pick up the teacup on the table to drink some tea when I found the table was quiet and dull, completely devoid of the joyful atmosphere that had been filled with boasting and bragging.

Was I talking too loudly while playing the game with Ye Zhi? I immediately felt embarrassed, blaming myself for being too engrossed and being so impolite.

"Tu Sheng, do you know Ye Zhi?" Guan Hao asked me with a smile, but his tone was full of probing.

Confused, I replied truthfully, "We met not long ago, what's wrong?"

Guan Hao's tense expression eased, and he said, "It's nothing, I'm just curious. Ye Zhi only transferred to the class next door when we were in our third year, and even the people in our class weren't very familiar with her. I'm a little surprised that you know Ye Zhi."

No wonder I had never heard of Ye Zhi when I was in college. It turns out she transferred here later and was busy with her major courses after her junior year. We rarely had any contact, so it's normal that I hadn't heard of her.

Judging from Guan Hao's words, he seems to know Ye Zhi very well?

This is what confuses me, and it's what confuses everyone. Guan Hao noticed this and explained, "My father has a business partnership with Ye Zhi's family, and I often see her, so we're friends, right, Ye Zhi?"

Although they are friends, everyone could sense that Guan Hao's gaze towards Ye Zhi was different from his gaze towards other girls.

At this moment, Ye Zhi was recharging her game account with in-game currency and ignored Guan Hao. It seemed she really wanted to give me a skin. I gently touched her and reminded her that she should respond politely to Guan Hao, otherwise he would be too embarrassed.

"What are you doing?" Ye Zhi asked me, looking at me with confusion.

"Guan Hao is talking to you..." I said softly.

Ye Zhi reluctantly looked up at Guan Hao and nodded in response. However, I felt that she was being somewhat perfunctory. Perhaps in her eyes, no one could compare to the game.

Guan Hao was initially embarrassed that Ye Zhi ignored him, but now that she had responded, he had finally saved face. He looked at me gratefully. I didn't force Ye Zhi to respond to him, nor could I control her. I just didn't have a bad impression of Guan Hao and didn't want to embarrass him.

I felt that if I continued playing games with Ye Zhi, it would really ruin the atmosphere. After all, we were there to chat, and we had already made the atmosphere at the table awkward. So I whispered to Ye Zhi, "Why don't you go back to your original seat first, and I'll play with you another time."

Ye Zhi frowned reluctantly. My head was throbbing. After thinking for a moment, I said in a voice only she could hear, "If you don't listen to me, I won't play games with you anymore. If you listen to me, I'll play with you more often."

She had already witnessed my temper when we were at Ye Zhi's house, so she was really afraid that I wouldn't play with her anymore, and she gave me a resentful look.

"Then you'd better remember what you said..."

Seeing that I nodded honestly, she reluctantly returned to her original seat, gave the boy a look, and indicated that he could go back to the seat next to me.

Then the atmosphere at the table returned to its previous lively state. Mo Jia, who had previously loved showing off her boyfriend, was unusually quiet, while Liao Zhengyang gave me a knowing look, as if to say, "You're something else." I knew this guy's thinking was gradually becoming influenced by Di...

He's overthinking it. Ye Zhi just enjoys the feeling of me carrying her in the game.

Chapter 54. Would you like to try my lipstick?

Guan Hao sent me a message saying he had something to say to me and asked if it would be convenient for me to go to the restroom. Actually, I could vaguely guess what he meant.

Then we went to the male-only restroom one after the other. We had been cooped up in the private room for a long time and finally had a chance to smoke, but we found that our cigarettes were gone. They must have fallen out when we changed out of our cosplay outfits.

Seeing this, Guan Hao handed over his cigarette, and then they both started puffing away.

"Do you know who I'm going to confess to?" Guan Hao asked first.

"Ye Zhi?" It must be Ye Zhi; even a StarCraft player could tell.

Guan Hao nodded, then asked, "Do you think there's a chance?"

Recalling Ye Zhi's indifferent attitude towards him earlier, I think I'll most likely only get a "friend zone" card, no, I might not even get that...

Seeing that I didn't speak, Guan Hao said self-deprecatingly, "Actually, I knew it was hopeless, but I was just unwilling to give up... because when I tried to get close to her before, she always gave off a feeling of keeping people at arm's length, not just me, but everyone..."

Actually, that was my feeling when I first saw her, but now...

"I can't figure out what she's interested in. She doesn't seem interested in the interests that other girls have, which leaves me at a loss. Is it possible that what she's pursuing is something that ordinary people like us can't understand?" Guan Hao said with some distress.

Well, I think what she's pursuing might not be anything too lofty or sophisticated; it might just be a game.

I remained silent, because he hadn't yet revealed why he had asked me to come here, so I listened quietly.

Guan Hao finally got to the point, looking at me earnestly and asking, "So I want to know how you became friends with Ye Zhi? You said you only met her recently, but you're already so close that you can play games together. How did you do that?"

I frowned slightly, feeling a bit annoyed. I felt like he was asking me how I got close to Ye Zhi.

Guan Hao quickly realized this and hurriedly said, "I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to know what Ye Zhi likes?"

It's clear he really cares about Ye Zhi, so much so that he, who is usually careful with his words, said something that made me misunderstand, but I still have a question.

"What exactly do you like about Ye Zhi? Is it her appearance?" I'm not trying to belittle Ye Zhi, but putting aside her looks, her personality is rather unlikable. Not many people like someone who's cold all the time. Of course, after I learned about her other side, I actually found her quite adorable.

Guan Hao said without any pretense, "Undeniably, her appearance was the first thing that attracted me, followed by her status... I also admire her dedication to her work, her decisiveness and high execution in handling matters, which is truly captivating. Most importantly, her unapproachable nature filled me with a desire to conquer her, but the ridiculous thing is, I can't conquer her..."

Although Guan Hao was very frank, I found it hard to accept. Although Ye Zhi and I were just ordinary friends, hearing that another man was pursuing her, especially using the word "conquer" to describe it, made me a little jealous for some reason. So I said, "Ye Zhi is a person, not an object. Don't use words like 'conquer'... Also, Ye Zhi and I only met because we were playing games. We haven't known each other for very long, so I don't know what she likes. I probably can't help you with that."

I think getting along with people also depends on a bit of fate. Guan Hao knew Ye Zhi earlier than me, but he couldn't find common ground with her. On the other hand, I happened to have common interests and topics with Ye Zhi, which is why I was able to get along with her better.

Guan Hao looked a little disappointed, but still thanked me and went to the restroom. When I came out of the restroom, I happened to see Ye Zhi washing her hands at the sink. She looked at me through the mirror, and I felt a pang of guilt. Could she have overheard my conversation with Guan Hao? No way, Ye Zhi doesn't seem like the type to eavesdrop at the door. Besides, I haven't done anything to wrong her, so why should I be a coward?

So he smiled at her as a greeting and prepared to walk towards the private room.

"Don't you wash your hands when you go to the restroom?" Ye Zhi asked casually.

"Ah? Oh, I almost forgot..." Luckily, no one was around, otherwise it would have been really embarrassing!

So I put my hand on the sensor at the sink, but no water came out, which made me even more embarrassed.

"How could you be so stupid..."

Ye Zhi grabbed my hand and placed it somewhere else, and then the water started gushing out. It turned out I hadn't placed my hand in the right spot...

So awkwardly, I quickly tried to start a conversation: "You're here to use the restroom too?"

Ye Zhi rolled her eyes at me, speechless.

Yeah, if you come to the restroom but don't use the toilet, are you trying to be like a myna bird?

Back in the private room, Guan Hao didn't proceed with the planned confession; he simply ended the gathering normally. His classmates were puzzled but didn't feel comfortable asking. I don't know if he'd backed down…

Then the two groups went to karaoke, but at that moment I received a message from Ye Zhi telling me not to go and to wait in her car.

I agreed, because my former classmates have all changed, and the feeling of getting along with them is gone. Besides, Mo Jia is there, and I don't really want to see her true colors.

Honestly, it would be much better to have a small get-together with a few close classmates at a restaurant, drinking beer and eating skewers.

I told Guan Hao that I had something to do and wouldn't be going, and then I followed Ye Zhi to the parking lot and got into her car.

After getting in the car, Ye Zhi stopped talking. She said she had something to talk to me about, but I suddenly felt that she had just made up an excuse to call me over.

The parking lot was quiet. Ye Zhi and I were alone in the small space. She was applying lipstick and touching up her makeup with a small mirror. Sitting in the passenger seat, I could smell her perfume. She was different from the homebody I knew. She was a girl who knew how to dress herself. Although she was already very beautiful, she still made herself look more exquisite. She paid great attention to matching earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. But the more she did this, the stranger I felt. She was not the kind of person who cared a lot about what others thought.