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Jiang Shi clenched his fists and then relaxed them, suppressing the urge to silence Jiang Lele right there in the training room. “Weren’t you going to sleep? What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Oh, Yang-ge said he wanted to talk to you about today’s streaming numbers.” Jiang Lele finally remembered the main reason he came. “He said he called and messaged you, but you didn’t respond. He even asked in the group chat if you were still practicing, so I came to check.”
Jiang Shi picked up his phone from the desk. “I had it on silent earlier. I’ll reply to him now.”
As Jiang Shi lowered his head to type a reply, Jiang Lele couldn’t contain his curiosity. “What does the captain smell like? Did you figure it out?”
He mumbled, “That jacket is brand new, the captain hasn’t worn it much—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Shi grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out of the training room.
With the room quiet again, Jiang Shi noticed an extra 100,000 yuan in his bank account and messaged Yuan Yang.
[Obedient Jiangjiang: Yang-ge, I can’t accept this money.]
Today’s stream had brought Jiang Shi a lot of new fans, and since he didn’t have his own account, those fans had sent gifts to Xie Xu instead.
After the stream, Xie Xu suggested to Yuan Yang that half of the gift revenue should be given to Jiang Shi.
Yuan Yang, ever the efficient guy, transferred the money to Jiang Shi’s bank account an hour ago.
[Yuan Yang: It’s fine. I’ve done the math, nearly half the gifts were sent in your name, so you should feel comfortable accepting it.]
[Yuan Yang: Besides, if Xie Xu took all the money, it wouldn’t look good.]
Xie Xu had asked Yuan Yang about Jiang Shi’s background. According to the information, Jiang Shi’s mother had passed away, and he lived alone in a rented apartment. His primary income likely came from unstable gaming jobs.
When Jiang Shi signed with TLG, Yuan Yang had asked if he needed an advance on his salary.
Even though Jiang Shi’s signing bonus was substantial, it was distributed quarterly. In other words, Jiang Shi wouldn’t make much money in the short term after joining TLG.
But Jiang Shi had assured them he had enough money to spend.
Yuan Yang didn’t believe him.
So when Xie Xu mentioned this after the stream, Yuan Yang quickly understood his intention and prioritized transferring the money to Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi was about to say more when a knock on the door interrupted him, followed by the sound of it opening and footsteps approaching.
Assuming it was Jiang Lele, Jiang Shi didn’t bother to look up.
But then, an arm reached over from behind and placed a cup of milk on his desk, accompanied by that familiar citrus scent.
It was Xie Xu.
After setting down the milk, Xie Xu straightened up. “That money is rightfully yours, there’s no need to refuse it.”
Jiang Shi hadn’t expected Xie Xu to come all the way to talk to him about this. He pressed his lips together and finally nodded. “Alright.”
“But Captain, I’m not short on money.”
Jiang Shi looked up at Xie Xu standing behind him.
“Before I joined TLG, my queue for paid games was always full. For high-level games, I charged 88 yuan per match. If it was a promotion match, it could go up to 100.”
That rate was quite high, but Jiang Shi’s skills were excellent. He could take on two opponents at once when playing silently, so he never lacked customers. Plus, he lived in a remote area, so besides rent and buying Snowman merchandise, his expenses were minimal. Over the years, he had saved up quite a bit.
Jiang Shi was even about to show Xie Xu his bank balance when Xie Xu ruffled his hair. “Alright, then we won’t worry about it anymore.”
Jiang Shi felt the weight on his head and immediately shut his mouth, lowering the hand that held his phone.
Because of the height difference, when he spoke, he slightly tilted his face up, and the cool-toned light cast shadows under his eyes, giving his pupils a clear, amber-like transparency. He looked both beautiful and obedient, resembling a soft, baby animal.
The two locked eyes for a moment before Jiang Shi quickly looked down, almost as if he was trying to escape.
He could feel his ears burning again.
But he really liked it when Xie Xu ruffled his hair; it felt like some sort of secret reward.
Xie Xu noticed his reddened ears and withdrew his hand. “Your hair is a bit messy.”
Jiang Shi awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair, mumbling, “I didn’t pay attention when I was changing clothes.”
He adjusted his hair, but it still felt a bit off at the back. Just as he was about to check his reflection in one of the darkened screens of his teammates’ computers, he suddenly felt a cold finger brush against the nape of his neck.
“Your hair got caught under your collar.”
Jiang Shi felt something snap inside him.
The deep, pleasant voice, combined with the tingling sensation at the back of his neck, sent a shockwave straight to his brain, completely scattering his thoughts. All he could hear was the uncontrollable pounding of his heart in his ears.
Jiang Shi suddenly remembered that he had felt a similar shock when he was changing clothes earlier.
At the time, he had thought it was just his clothes brushing against a metal accessory…
Even after Xie Xu left, Jiang Shi still hadn’t recovered, sitting dazed in his chair like a robot.
What had Xie Xu said before he left? Something about drinking the milk and going to bed early.
Jiang Shi mechanically picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp.
The warm milk settled in his stomach, calming his erratic heartbeat.
Maybe milk really does help with sleep, because after playing two more rounds, Jiang Shi was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Yawning, he returned to his bedroom.
While getting ready for bed, he habitually opened Weibo to check the little stories that fans had sent him earlier. After that one fan was blocked on Little Bear TV, she1the 18 Years Old Pure College Girl had sent the fanfic to his Weibo instead. Although he didn’t respond publicly, he had actually downloaded it and enjoyed reading it before bed.
He had just finished reading a section about uniform play.
But before he could read further, he noticed that many people had posted a link to Xu’s stream replay under his most recent Weibo post.
[34L234th floor; the 34th person who replied: Time, you should learn how to be sweet like him!]
[36L: You may not have his voice or looks, but you have skills! If you learn half of what he does, you’ll never have to worry about food and clothing again.]
[37L: Silly son, don’t blame Dad for switching my loyalty. TLG’s new AD is just too cute.]
[40L: I suggest you start streaming regularly to win back my heart.]
The person Jiang Shi’s fans were telling him to learn from was none other than himself.
[45L: If you don’t step up, Xu might get seduced by someone else.]
[Time: Do you think they look good together too?]
[Time: But Xu won’t be taken away. He just fed me milk.]
His fans, being night owls, quickly responded with question marks and yellow-faced emojis, with some even tagging Xie Xu in the comments.
[50L: @TLG-Xu, how exactly did you feed him?]
[51L: @TLG-Xu, tell us the details.]
Jiang Shi playfully joined in.
[Time: @TLG-Xu, Husband, don’t tell them~]
One fan remarked that while TLG’s new AD had been streaming all day, Jiang Shi hadn’t even started his stream despite staying up late, calling him heartless and so on.
This resonated with the fans, and everyone went crazy in the comment section of Jiang Shi’s Weibo.
The hashtag #When Will Time Start Streaming?# was used dozens of times.
Already tired, Jiang Shi found it hard to even recognize the word “Time” after being bombarded with so many comments.
As a responsible streamer, he promptly exited Weibo, reluctantly gave up his beloved bedtime stories, and climbed into bed to sleep.
Just as he closed his eyes, his phone buzzed.
To his surprise, the workaholic Yuan Yang was still active in the group chat.
[Yuan Yang: @Obedient Jiangjiang, are you asleep? Your team uniform is almost ready, but I forgot something important!]
[Yuan Yang: You haven’t decided on your ID!]
[Yuan Yang: Have you thought of one yet? Send it to me, and I’ll have it embroidered.]
[Yuan Yang: If you’re stuck, you can ask the others in the group for advice. @Everyone]
Jiang Shi thought everyone had gone to bed, but as soon as Yuan Yang sent the message, the chat exploded.
[Nine-ge: I just used my given name in English, since it’s a number.]
[The Group’s Most Handsome Guy Jiang Lele: How about 小白毛3Little White Hair?]
[Back: A pro player’s ID has to be in English…4this confused me, because Lion’s Juzi’s ID is in Chinese… maybe that’s just his streaming name? Not his actual pro ID?]
[Xu: We can discuss this tomorrow. It’s late, and I’m tired. Going to sleep now.]
[The Group’s Most Handsome Guy Jiang Lele: Captain’s lying! I just saw you on Weibo interacting with fans in the comments!]
[Xu: .]
[Yuan Yang: Can you guys stop chatting? I’m in a hurry!]
[Yuan Yang: If we finalize the name now, the uniform will be ready tomorrow, and I can announce it officially then.]
Announcing a new player’s ID using the team uniform was a TLG tradition.
Jiang Shi squinted at the chat for a while, thinking it was something urgent. He yawned, then casually tossed out his ID.
[Obedient Jiangjiang: I’ve decided on my ID! It’s going to be Time~]
