WCG Chapter 11

After some thoughts, I’ll post daily updates until the VIP chapter, which is ch 21, because the chapters are short (around 2k)~ The VIP chapters are 2x~3x that.

Xie Xu paused upon hearing this, giving Jiang Shi a deep look. 

Yet, he still moved forward, standing directly under the tower, tanking all the damage for Jiang Shi.

After that match, Xie Xu, claiming he felt stuffy, went outside for a smoke. Jiang Shi’s soft “save me” earlier reminded him of someone—

A person who had confessed to him, wanting to be his boyfriend, but deleted his account the very next day. That boy also liked to speak softly and use repetitive words when acting cute.

The memory had become quite fuzzy, but ever since Jiang Shi appeared, that boy’s image seemed to become clearer bit by bit. 

Upon closer thought, even Jiang Shi’s voice was quite similar to that person’s.

Xie Xu finished his cigarette, took a moment to let the wind blow away the smell, and then returned to the training room. 

He played a few more matches with Jiang Shi, each ending swiftly. 

The reason? Both of their playstyles were aggressive and daring. Even when outnumbered, Jiang Shi would charge forward as long as he knew Xie Xu had his back. 

It was hard to tell if it was pure recklessness or excessive trust.

Such an ADC made Xie Xu highly focused, fearing that one slip-up would result in his ADC being punished by the opponents.

After a few more matches, Xie Xu received a call from Sun.

“Want to go for a drink? I’m bored during the holiday,” Sun said with a chuckle. “You’re not still duo-queuing with your ADC, are you? Come on, let the kid play by himself for a bit. Let’s have a private world for some time.” 

Sitting close to Xie Xu, Jiang Shi heard every word. 

Private world?! 

At that moment, Xie Xu glanced at Jiang Shi. Jiang Shi, understanding immediately, pretended to be tired and said, “It’s fine. I’m exhausted from playing tonight and want to rest early. You don’t need to worry about me, Captain.”

After speaking, he even forced himself to yawn with his bright, alert eyes.

Xie Xu: “…”

Leaning back in his chair, Xie Xu turned to Jiang Lele and Yu Hui, “Are you two done with your match? Practice trio-queue with Jiang Shi for a bit. I have to go out.”

Jiang Lele: “Got it!”

After giving his instructions, Xie Xu grabbed his jacket and stood up. Before leaving, he reminded Jiang Shi to go to bed early and not to stay up late.

Jiang Shi obediently agreed.

---

Xie Xu quickly arrived at the bar Sun had mentioned. 

Sun was seated at a table outside the bar and waved when he saw Xie Xu. “Over here.”

As Xie Xu sat down, he picked up a bottle and poured himself a drink. “Why are you asking me out for a drink now? Did the coach scold you for your sloppy plays with Wing today?”

Wing was the hero Sun used today, and it was also his signature hero.

Sun punched Xie Xu on the shoulder, “Can’t you please be nicer to me?” 

“Besides, when have I ever played badly?” Sun snorted. “If it weren’t for you spoiling your ADC so much, his bot lane would have collapsed long ago.”

In public matches, there wasn’t an ADC he couldn’t gank into oblivion, let alone that little ADC running around unchecked.

“But, is this your new starting ADC?” Sun asked, probing. “Who is he? Give me some solid info.”

Xie Xu quickly realized Sun was fishing for information. He took a sip of his drink and replied cautiously, “You’ll find out once the official announcement is made.”

“Stingy,” Sun clinked his glass with Xie Xu’s. “But you guys definitely need a new ADC.”

The news of An signing with the Hurricane Team wasn’t a secret.

Sun quickly changed the topic, not wanting to poke at TLG’s sore spot. “Our coaching staff recently has taken a fancy to an ADC too, a streamer named Time.”

He suddenly thought of something and looked at Xie Xu, teasing, “I heard your team invited him for a trial, but he refused?”

He laughed, “Imagine someone not wanting to join TLG!”

Xie Xu’s expression remained calm, “Didn’t Lion get the same result?”

That morning, Yuan Yang had mentioned this as a joke to him.

His exact words were, “If TLG couldn’t recruit him, what makes Lion think they can?”

Sun’s laughter paused, and he rubbed his nose, “You guys are well-informed.”

Their coaches were old rivals, which was why Sun was sent to gather information.

“But our coach is still trying,” Sun checked his phone. “By the way, this streamer’s style is somewhat similar to your new ADC’s.”

Aggressive as hell.

He opened the Little Bear TV app, “I’ve been wanting to watch his streams, heard his signature hero is Senna. It would pair well with my Wing, but he doesn’t have a consistent streaming schedule.”

Just as he was about to show Xie Xu the streamer’s profile, he noticed the streamer had just gone live. Reading the title, he muttered, “Killing spree in the Rift?”

He hissed, “This guy is seriously fierce! I somehow feel like he’s out to kill me.”

Xie Xu made no comment. 

The title was actually more normal compared to before.

---

Shortly after Xie Xu left, Jiang Shi returned to his room and started his own stream. 

He needed to vent.

Fans quickly noticed the unusually “normal” title of his stream.

[Yo, not hanging out with your husband today? End of cohabitation? Or did you get a divorce?]

[Did the little idiot get dumped? So resentful.] 

[Right? You’re not talking much.]

[The Wing from the last match probably has PTSD by now. That originally majestic hawk got beaten so bad it was running all over the Rift, losing all its feathers.]

Wing’s abilities involve launching feathers for attacks. It’s a flashy effect and, combined with its cool design, made the hero a fan favorite. But in the last match, Jiang Shi had reduced the Wing to a bald chicken.

Seeing the opponent’s Wing exit the game at light speed, Jiang Shi felt a bit more satisfied and sneered, “Today, I will beat whoever uses this chicken.” 

[What kind of grudge is this? Did Wing steal your crush?]

[Tell Dad, Dad will comfort you (hug.jpg)]

[Steal your crush? Does T Bao have a lover now?]

[Did the person above lose your memory? His husband is Xu, right? Now he’s losing it. Did Xu get snatched away?]

[Something feels off with today’s title. This little idiot even changed his streamer name to the proper ‘Time’. What, don’t like Your Father Jiang anymore?]

Jiang Shi’s hands clenched around his mouse. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Jiang Shi responded to his fans with a straight face, “As long as you know I’m Your Father Jiang at heart, there’s no need to make it public. We’re all one family.” 

Ever since he learned that Jiang Lele occasionally lurked in his livestreams, he had changed all his names to something more normal, turned off the playback feature, and made sure to leave no traces. 

After all, he didn’t know if Jiang Lele would sneakily watch his streams and tell the TLG team about it.

However, while he could change his titles, he couldn’t change his personality.

“And stop spreading rumors about me and Xu. We’re on our honeymoon, and no one can tear us apart.” He unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into his mouth, his tone a bit mischievous. “I barely managed to sneak out of my room. If I suddenly end the stream, it’s probably because Xu dragged me back.”

Jiang Shi squinted at the chat section, then saying, “What would he do if he caught me?”

He paused, taking the lollipop out of his mouth with a soft pop. He licked the sweet residue off his lips and grinned, “What else? Do me, of course¹he’s using the censored version of “fuck me”.”

[66666]

[I scrolled through the chat and no one asked, don’t add drama to yourself.]

[The moment he used that tone, I knew where this was going. You’re so extra, T Bao.]

[After the previous shocks, I’m now completely unfazed.]

[@TLG-Xu, come see your perverted fan.]

Seeing this mention made Jiang Shi’s heart skip a beat, but he quickly calmed down. 

There was no way anyone could actually mention Xie Xu in his stream. Xie Xu was out drinking with Sun and had said in the group chat that he’d be back late. 

There was no chance he’d see this stream.

Jiang Shi was fearless. “Mention him all you want. Whoever backs down is a dog.”

At that moment, the game finished loading, and Jiang Shi bit into his lollipop, “Enough chatting. Time to kill some chickens.”

Sun, who had been watching the entire time, couldn’t stop laughing. “I didn’t realize you were such a flirt.”

Xie Xu glanced at him but didn’t respond.

“You seem like you already knew about this.” Sun was surprised. “You guys just let him do whatever he wants?”

“No need.” Xie Xu looked at the livestream showing the familiar ‘Senna’ and the skilled ‘Thank you kindly’ before turning his gaze away. “He has no ill intentions.”

Sun, having been friends with Xie Xu for years, understood his character and said nothing more. 

Xie Xu didn’t care about others using his fame to make money as long as it didn’t cause any significant trouble. He never interfered.

The two drank a few more glasses.

Jiang Lele tagged Xie Xu in the group chat, asking if he needed the door left open for him.

Xie Xu was about to reply that he had a key but then remembered something and asked.

[Xu: Where’s Jiang Shi?]

[Lele: He said he was tired from gaming a few hours ago and went to sleep.]

[Xu: Got it.]

A few minutes later.

[Xu: @Obedient Jiangjiang, are you asleep?]

After Xie Xu mentioned Jiang Shi, he noticed the nickname “Obedient Jiangjiang” and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sun, who had been peeking over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow. “Oh, a new member in the group?”

“Is it the AD you were with today?” he asked with obvious curiosity.

That kid didn’t look obedient in the slightest.

Xie Xu turned his phone face down to avoid Sun’s prying eyes. “I never noticed you being so nosy before.”

Sun drawled, “I also never saw you bothering your ‘obedient little darling’ during his sleep~.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Shi was in the middle of a heated exchange with his team’s jungler Wing, his keyboard clattering loudly.

[Team Chat] Time: You’ve been wandering around the jungle all game, and you’re blaming the support for not sticking with you? Where do you get the nerve?

[Team Chat] Time: After the team fight, even the little piggy on the side of the road did more damage than you.

[Team Chat] Time: Your damage is so low, why don’t you buy a piercing armor to deal damage (sincere suggestion).

Just as he was getting into it, he glanced down and saw Xie Xu’s mention in the group chat. His hand trembled, almost causing him to waste a Flash.

However, he quickly calmed down, swallowing the slew of curses he was about to unleash.

[Obedient Jiangjiang: About to sleep! Captain, do you need something?]

[Obedient Jiangjiang: KittenYawn.jpg]

[Xu: Nothing.]

Only then did Jiang Shi breathe a sigh of relief.

The game’s jungler, frustrated by the trash talk, started intentionally feeding the enemy team, but thanks to the support sticking with Jiang Shi into the late game, he carried the game to victory, his HP still high. 

After the match, the support sent him a friend request, along with the message, [Hey, wanna play together? I’ll support you.]

Jiang Shi politely declined, responding, [No thanks, my husband is my main support.]

The other player responded with a question mark.

[Lol, that girl must be so confused.]

[T Bao, you are so bold.] 

[My son truly loves Xu. I’ve never seen him care about anyone else this much before. I’m so touched as his mother.]

[So what did Wing do to piss him off this much?]

[I know! I just saw Sun’s Weibo!]

[I saw that post too. No wonder Time is going crazy. He’s secretly jealous.]

[Your husband ditched you.]

[So pitiful.]

Jiang Shi, puzzled, clicked on the link sent by a fan in the chat.

[Lion-Sun: Spending the evening with Xu (heart)]

Underneath was a picture of two glasses clinking together.

At first glance, it looked nice, but Jiang Shi felt his previously vented anger reignite.

He seriously asked his stream, “He’s so brazen. Can I report this?”

Without waiting for a response, he reported Sun’s Weibo post for being sexually suggestive and inappropriate, right in front of his viewers.

Sun, who had been lurking in Jiang Shi’s stream with an alt account, was completely blindsided by this. He looked at Xie Xu. “Seriously? Kids these days are such hypocrites?”

This kid was way more sexually suggestive than him, right? 

Xie Xu sipped his drink without commenting.

However, the next second, his phone buzzed on the table.

[Obedient Jiangjiang: @Xu, I can’t sleep. I’m too hungry, QAQ.]

[Obedient Jiangjiang: Pitiful.jpg]

The emoji was the same one spamming in Time’s livestream — a pitiful little kitten crouching on the ground, tail drooping, looking abandoned.

At this hour, the cook at their base had already gone home, and the only one outside was Xie Xu.

Before Sun could grasp what was happening, his drinking buddy for the night downed his drink in one go, put on his jacket, and said, “Something came up. I have to go.”

In the group chat, Jiang Shi quickly received a response from Xie Xu.

[Xu: What do you want to eat?]

• 1
  he’s using the censored version of “fuck me”