IMAO Chapter 59

Startled by Tao Le’s words, Qiu Jingming’s eyelids trembled as he inexplicably looked down at the screenshot his friend Tao Le had sent to his communicator.

In the screenshot, Jiang Yuan had just dismounted from his mecha. His clothes were disheveled and wet with sweat as they clung to his waist. His movements were dynamic, revealing a strip of his waist where clean-cut muscle lines were clearly visible, and even the sharp angles of his hip bones could be faintly seen on either side.

Qiu Jingming’s gaze darkened as he lingered for a moment longer on Jiang Yuan in the photo.

…

That evening, Jiang Yuan returned to his room and saw Ji Yang’s messages.

Ji Yang: Watched your match today. Strong, super strong!
Jiang Yuan: It’s not too late to start worshipping me.
Ji Yang: Since when did you start talking dirty!
Jiang Yuan: You call that dirty talk? Isn’t it just facts?
Ji Yang: Pfft. By the way, I took notes from classes these past few days. I’ll send them to you in a bit.
Jiang Yuan: Sure.
Ji Yang: Were you tired from the match today?
Jiang Yuan: Not really, it wasn’t too tiring. The match went by quickly.
Ji Yang: That’s true. You and Ji Rong basically had them pinned to the ground. The forums are going crazy now.
Jiang Yuan: They underestimated us.
Ji Yang: So, are you getting on Star Wars tonight?
Jiang Yuan: No.
Ji Yang: Alright then. Help me rank up when you’re free!
Jiang Yuan: Sure.

Jiang Yuan had just put down his communicator when it vibrated again. Thinking it was Ji Yang sending the materials, he didn’t check it.

After showering and coming out of the bathroom, he picked up the communicator from his bedside and opened it.

Unknown: Great match.
Unknown: Keep it up.

The second message came about half an hour after the first.

Although the sender showed an unknown number, Jiang Yuan recognized the communication number’s owner immediately.

What’s wrong with this person?

They had no relationship anymore. Well, not exactly no relationship, considering this person was now his younger brother’s husband.

Jiang Yuan didn’t bother to reply to Song Yirui’s message and immediately blocked him to reject all future messages. Song Yirui had already completely left his life, and he had long forgotten about this person, but his message reminded Jiang Yuan of something.

He took out his gaming device and quickly logged in, finding his character “Two Tress Do Not Make A Forest.” Combined with “Beneath A Field Is A Heart,” it spelled out “mutual longing.” This couple name was changed at Song Yirui’s insistence when he saw too many people flirting with the original owner.

Due to training, Jiang Yuan hadn’t been gaming much lately and had forgotten about this. Seeing Song Yirui’s message today reminded him about the gaming account.

Jiang Yuan bought a name change card and changed it back to the original owner’s previous ID, “Jiang Bu Xi Zhou” (A Boat Unmoored on the River).

[System Announcement: Player ‘Two Trees Do Not Make A Forest’ has changed their name to ‘Jiang Bu Xi Zhou’]

As soon as the announcement appeared, Jiang Yuan’s friend messages started rolling in.

[Friend] Want To Enter Your Heart: Oh? Xiao Mu¹Little Tree, you changed your name? Won’t your jealous Alpha make a fuss?
[Friend] Passerby Ye: Back to your original ID, huh? I always thought this name sounded better [grin].
[Friend] ChiChi: Xiao Mu, you haven’t been online for so long. Your contribution value was too low, so the team kicked you out. Are you coming back? Want me to invite you?

Jiang Yuan glanced at the friend messages, all from people in the original owner’s team.

[Friend] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: No need to invite me. I won’t be using this account anymore.
[Friend] Passerby Ye: ???
[Friend] ChiChi: Ahhh, what happened?
[Friend] Want To Enter Your Heart: Xiao Mu’s not playing anymore?
[Friend] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: Yeah.

The next day.

Everyone watched the matches at home. To be honest, while watching live had its atmosphere, with the help of holographic technology, watching at home also provided outstanding visual effects, impact, and overall experience.

Especially when viewing from a favorite player’s perspective. It was absolutely thrilling, as if you were the player and the player was you.

…

In less than a week, the group matches were basically over. Yesterday, Jiang Yuan’s team completed their final match, achieving a 21-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan, Ji Rong, Gu Bai, and Cyril all successfully entered the individual matches.

Waking up in the morning, Ji Rong stared at the ceiling, still immersed in his recent dream.

In the dream, Jiang Yuan kissed him first and said he liked him the most.

Dreams really do have everything.

Ji Rong lay in bed, closing his eyes again, waited a moment, then got up and dressed.

After finishing his morning routine, Ji Rong checked the time, stuffed his communicator in his pocket, and opened his door.

Jiang Yuan, who was also opening his door, was clearly used to running into Ji Rong when going down for breakfast. He closed his door and turned around, “Let’s go eat.”

Ji Rong said, “Okay.”

After breakfast, Jiang Yuan’s group headed out directly.

Today was Chris’s final group match. They were going to the venue to support them. Chris’s advancement was already secured; it was just a matter of which rank. The students had arranged to celebrate together in Hoyt’s busiest commercial district after the group matches ended.

As the final match concluded, Chris’s team won 2:1, earning two points and securing first place in their group, successfully advancing to the top sixteen.

After Chris’s team finished their interviews, they headed straight for their destination. On the way, Nolan suddenly turned around with a smile and asked Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong, “Do you know what everyone’s talking about in the group chat?”

Jiang Yuan shook his head.

“Everyone was saying you were drawn into the ‘group of death,’ but they all got slapped in the face,” Nolan continued, “They’re all talking about you guys being the second seed.”

With 21 consecutive wins in the group stage, only the Federation and Hoyt had achieved such a feat. As the five-time champion nation, Hoyt naturally ranked ahead of the Federation, becoming the tournament’s first seed.

Gu Bai reacted as soon as he heard this, quickly opening the group chat and scrolling through messages. After reading for a while, he suddenly exclaimed, “Wow, these people are so mean! They’re all cursing us to draw Hoyt in the top sixteen. That’s so evil!”

When they first arrived, all players had joined an official group chat to ensure proper communication of details.

Currently, the group showed 999+ messages.

“The Federation is so strong this year, about the same as Hoyt’s team, right?”
“21 straight wins in the group stage, what do you think?”
“I remember someone saying they’d do a handstand and shit if the Federation won the championship. Now, the Federation is the second seed. Are you scared yet? When the Federation wins, I’ll @ you ^_^”
“Hahaha, I remember too, let’s @ them together!”
Beacon Fire Do Not Stay: “F*ck, do you all have a grudge against me or what?”
“I wasn’t talking about you…”
“? Little bro, who are you?”
Beacon Fire Do Not Stay: “…”
Beacon Fire Do Not Stay recalled a message.
Beacon Fire Do Not Stay recalled a message.

Jiang Yuan: “…”

Ji Rong: “…”

Everyone: “…”

“Brother, you’re really something else.”
“We’ll remember you!”
“Handstand and shit!”

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  Little Tree