Jiang Shi was left distracted by Xie Xu’s simple question.
So he had played this mode before?
It seemed that one time, when he was in a bad mood and said he didn’t want to play AD, the other person had let him play support and queued with him the whole night.
In a way, it was very similar to the current situation. He had completely forgotten the frustration of losing streaks; it was much more enjoyable than ranking up in regular matches.
Jiang Shi sighed inwardly. His ex-boyfriend of over three hundred days had probably moved on to making someone else happy by now. Meanwhile, here he was, using the exact same approach to duo queue with Xie Xu.
Very… fair!
Jiang Shi, without any psychological burden, rode on Xie Xu’s head, charging into battle with him, his fast hands using Ignite to steal kills.
[TLG-Time is unstoppable!]
While collecting kills, Jiang Shi didn’t forget to compliment Xie Xu, “Captain, you’re the best!”
Jiang Shi was so thrilled that he started using cutesy words unconsciously.
However, this praise clearly lacked sincerity. The next sentence was, “I’m out of mana, Captain, help me get the blue buff.”
He said it so naturally, with an instinctive familiarity, like how he would coax his streaming audience into gifting him.
Hearing Jiang Shi’s carefree and cheerful tone, Xie Xu couldn’t help but glance at him.
Jiang Shi caught his look and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
If they didn’t clear this blue buff soon, the enemy jungler would be back.
Xie Xu helped him secure the buff. “Nothing.”
Letting The Cat take Ignite had consequences — after the training session, Jiang Shi’s voice was even hoarser. No matter how much he begged, Xie Xu refused to play more games with him, telling him to go rest early.
Thus, it was a rare occasion where Jiang Shi left work at the same time as everyone else.
Jiang Lele, seeing Jiang Shi leave the training room with him, found it a bit strange.
It wasn’t just Jiang Lele who felt that way — Jiang Shi himself wasn’t used to it.
Lying in bed, his head was fuzzy, but he couldn’t sleep no matter what. Instead, Xie Xu’s question kept echoing in his mind: “Have you ever played The Cat in duo queue like this before?”
If it hadn’t been for that question, he would’ve almost completely forgotten about his online ex-boyfriend, someone he had never even met in person.
Now that he thought about it, he really had been a bit of a jerk. After all, he had been quite happy during that time.
Jiang Shi hesitated for a moment before logging into his only Weibo alt account.
His Weibo was set to private, with all contacts in the associated account cleared a long time ago. No one knew about this account, so it had become a place for him to record his feelings and—
Store “good stuff.”
Jiang Shi edited the main character’s name from a meme he had seen before and posted it, even coming up with a suitable title—
[Precious Learning Material with My Husband (Usage Progress: 0%)]
Anyone who clicked on the link would understand what this “usage progress” meant.
It contained various scenarios and positions, with some highlighted by Jiang Shi, indicating he was quite satisfied with them and wanted to try them with [husband] someday.
After posting, Jiang Shi, having nothing else to do, browsed through his old posts.
The first post on this account was a close-up of his online boyfriend’s hand.
[I’m in love, wahhh!]
The attached image was a poorly taken, blurry photo.
By the time Jiang Shi finished looking at the photo, twenty minutes had passed.
Even after all this time, his heart still raced upon seeing that hand, similar to how he felt every time he saw Xie Xu’s face.
Jiang Shi felt a bit regretful. If only these hands belonged to Xie Xu.
The rest of the Weibo documented much of his daily interactions with his online boyfriend, such as how many points they’d gained in ranked that day, exchanging contact information, or saying good morning and good night every day.
This made Jiang Shi a bit confused — this account had no friends, so what was the point of recording all this?
After thinking carefully, he remembered he used to post these to screenshot and send them to his online boyfriend, showing how much he cared.
Upon realizing this, Jiang Shi thought: ‘…Why was I so clever back then!’
Reading through the posts, Jiang Shi felt he had learned a lot.
Later posts, however, were about losing access to his QQ account, which was linked to his game account, causing him to lose all contact.
[I have only called one person “Gege”, and he will be the only one I call that in the future.]
[His hands are so big, he should be able to hold my entire neck, right? Will he like to grab me?]
[His fingers are so long, and he can help me do many, many things.]
[I don’t know if my Gege prefers doing it from the front or behind…]
Seeing these messages, Jiang Shi’s mood sank.
After losing contact with him, Jiang Shi was heartbroken for quite some time. His only outlet for expressing his feelings was through this account.
Besides, in his channel, the viewer’s level had no “Gege” title, which showed his true feelings.
However, those sad feelings were completely broken when he saw Xie Xu’s promotional photo in the merchandise store.
The next post was the one he made after successfully passing the TLG trial.
[Gege, I’m here! lick.jpg sun.jpg heart.jpg]”
Underneath was a photo of Xie Xu.
Jiang Shi spent another twenty minutes staring at his new “Gege” handsome picture before closing his phone, completely satisfied.
How could his husband be so handsome!
He wondered what his husband was doing right now…
He glanced at the time. It had been an hour since the end of training — Xie Xu might not be asleep yet? Maybe he could send him a “good night” message now, arrange to have breakfast together tomorrow, and even reserve a spot for duo queue!
Jiang Shi had to admit that his past routines gave him some great ideas.
Excited, Jiang Shi opened WeChat and scrolled through his contact list, only to discover a problem—
He didn’t have Xie Xu’s WeChat…
He opened the team’s group chat and clicked on Xie Xu’s avatar. Staring at the “Add Friend” button, he finally realized that he really didn’t have Xie Xu’s contact information.
This fact made Jiang Shi fall silent.
After being in the team for so long, what had he been doing? He couldn’t even manage half of his former methods! How would he ever sleep with Xie Xu at this rate?
Frustrated, Jiang Shi scratched his head. He prepared to send a friend request but hesitated again — adding someone as a friend in the middle of the night seemed odd.
Plus, it felt informal to add him like this.
He thought back to his old Weibo posts and decided to scroll through them again, hoping for inspiration. But when he saw his previous methods clearly, he fell silent once more.
He had actually added his online boyfriend by sending a “PDD1Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform. discount promo” link! ()
Jiang Shi was stunned — what on earth had he been thinking back then?!
Doubting all his past tactics, Jiang Shi decided to give up for now and find another opportunity later.
With that task done, Jiang Shi licked his lips, his fingers moving to open the newly posted [Precious Learning Material].
This was his fixed bedtime reading.
A few minutes later, Jiang Shi rubbed his slightly flushed cheeks and marked the sentence “Doing it while using the championship team jacket as a cushion” with emphasis.
He couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he had worn Xie Xu’s jacket before that the fan who wrote the story specifically emphasized the looseness of the team uniform. In the story, when he stood up wearing it, only his thighs were exposed, and eventually, even the last piece of clothing for modesty was stripped off.
Even the golden embroidery on the cuff of Xie Xu’s team jacket got wet, losing its original color.
The imagery was so vivid. The final description, of dirtying the jacket while using it as a cushion against the table, carried an indescribable thrill amidst the forbidden nature of it.
Jiang Shi rolled around in his bed, hugging his blanket several times before he finally calmed down — he needed to sleep.
He turned off his phone and drifted off happily, not noticing that his Weibo alt account, which hadn’t been visited by anyone in almost a year, now had a new visitor record.
The next day, Jiang Shi was awakened by a knock on his door.
His head felt heavy as he groggily got out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and went to open the door. Before he could even look up to see who it was, a cool hand was pressed to his forehead.
“You seem to have a fever again. Have you checked your temperature?” Xie Xu asked, looking at the half-asleep Jiang Shi with droopy eyelids. “Anywhere else uncomfortable?”
Only then did Jiang Shi fully wake up from his drowsiness, but the first thing he did wasn’t to answer Xie Xu’s question. Instead, he instinctively pulled up his pants.
Good. This time he wasn’t revealing any embarrassing underwear.
“Just feel a bit heavy-headed, otherwise, I’m okay,” Jiang Shi obediently answered. “I think it’s just a cold. I’ll take some medicine after I eat.”
Xie Xu listened to his voice, which was even hoarser than yesterday, and frowned slightly. “Your throat hurts?”
Jiang Shi coughed a little. “It’s alright.”
He had used his voice too much yesterday.
“Today is New Year’s Day, and the auntie made a lot of food,” Xie Xu said. “She also made soup. Make sure to drink some later.”
Since New Year’s Day was right next to the Spring Split, the base didn’t have a holiday, and no one celebrated the New Year either. Last night, they all trained through midnight as usual.
However, the base’s chef had taken it to heart, making an especially hearty meal today, with a favorite dish for each of them.
Jiang Shi quickly went downstairs after washing up.
His biological clock had failed him because of the cold, and he was half an hour late. If he didn’t hurry, Jiang Lele would eat up all the good food.
Jiang Shi hurried downstairs after brushing his teeth and washing his face, putting on his team jacket halfway down the stairs.
By the time he pulled out a chair beside Xie Xu and sat down, he noticed that the dishes he liked had already been served into a small bowl for him — it was clearly saved just for him.
Jiang Shi quickly ate a bite and mumbled, “Did the auntie save this for me?”
Zhao Jiu, who was almost done eating, looked up from across the table and explained, “Not the auntie — it’s the captain. He was worried you might oversleep because you’re sick.”
Jiang Shi turned his head to look at Xie Xu beside him and obediently thanked him, “Thank you, Captain!”
But just as he finished speaking, he saw Xie Xu reach out his hand. Jiang Shi blinked, not moving.
Then he saw Xie Xu zip up his team jacket for him. “Seems like the jacket’s still a bit too big?”
Jiang Shi was just about to reply that it wasn’t, but as soon as he looked up, he noticed the golden embroidery on Xie Xu’s sleeve — the subtle sign that this jacket belonged to the captain of the TLG team.
Last night’s explicit fanfic immediately surged into his mind uncontrollably.
Jiang Shi’s face turned red instantly. He only spoke after Xie Xu pulled back his hand. “It’s fine, I prefer it loose.”
He couldn’t help but ask, “Captain, when I wore your team jacket last time, was the hem really that long?”
He always felt that saying it reached his thigh was exaggerated.
He couldn’t be that short, right?
But after Jiang Shi asked, Xie Xu’s expression suddenly turned a bit strange. His deep gaze lingered on Jiang Shi’s face, as if trying to discern something.
Jiang Shi met his gaze, cheeks slightly flushed, but he didn’t look away.
Indeed, from any angle, Xie Xu’s looks were flawless!
Eventually, it was Xie Xu who looked away first. “I didn’t pay attention last time you wore it. Want to try it on today?”
“No need.” Jiang Shi coughed, feeling that wearing Xie Xu’s clothes with these thoughts in mind was a bit improper. “I was just asking casually.”
Xie Xu hummed, took a sip of his soup, and asked, “What time did you sleep last night?”
Jiang Shi found the question a bit strange, but still obediently replied, “I went to bed right after washing up. Maybe because I’m sick, I felt especially tired.”
The Obedient Jiangjiang wouldn’t stay up late reading smut!
Jiang Lele interrupted, “You went to sleep that early? Didn’t you check out the five New Year skins [God Making] released last night? I’ve already bought four, but I’m still debating whether to get the support skin. I can’t really play Snowman.”
That hero was just too difficult.
Jiang Shi’s eyes lit up at the mention.
New skins were out?
Could he pretend to buy the skin as a gift for Xie Xu? Given Xie Xu’s personality, he’d surely refund the money, and that way, Jiang Shi could legitimately add him on WeChat!
Then he could even act cute and tell Xie Xu not to pay him back — maybe instead buy him a milk tea, and they’d have matching drinks!
This plan sounded way more fun than the Pinduoduo “slash for discount” trick.
After eating, Jiang Shi went to the kitchen for some milk, chugged it, and then rushed to the training room to gift the skin.
But after topping up his account and preparing to gift the skin to Xie Xu’s main account, the game popped up a message—
[The recipient already owns this skin. Confirm gift?]
If the skin was duplicated, it would be converted into game coins.
While Jiang Shi hesitated, wondering whether to proceed, the chair next to him was pulled out, and Xie Xu sat down.
Jiang Shi tentatively asked, “Captain, did you get all the New Year’s skins?”
If there was one Xie Xu hadn’t gotten yet, Jiang Shi would gift that one.
Jiang Lele, whose computer was also on the skin purchase page, chimed in, “Captain’s pro account has all the skins, and the officials even gift him the skins in advance every time — eager for him to play and promote the game for free!”
Jiang Shi: “?”
Wait, why didn’t the game developers focus on optimizing the game when they have time? Why are they so idle they gave away skins for free!!
Maybe Jiang Shi’s strange expression was too obvious, making Xie Xu glanced at his screen. “Thinking of buying skins?”
Jiang Shi’s heart skipped a beat, and he frantically tried to cancel the gift. However, the mouse slipped, and he accidentally gifted it to someone else.
The next second, an excited voice rang out in the training room: “Whoa! Did you gift me a skin, Little White Hair?!”
Jiang Lele hugged Jiang Shi’s shoulder affectionately. “And it’s the Snowman skin I needed! You actually remembered what I said during breakfast! Uncle didn’t dote on you for nothing!”
Jiang Shi: “…”
Expressionless, he pried Jiang Lele’s hand off, wearing an irritated “don’t touch me” face.
Jiang Lele, delighted with his new skin, didn’t mind Jiang Shi’s dislike and grinned. “T-Bao, you’re the best. I’ll help you rank up today and win back everything we lost yesterday!”
“I’ll use Snowman to support you, just in time to use the new skin.”
Jiang Shi’s forehead veins twitched. “Jiang Lele, don’t use Snowman. Otherwise, give the skin back to me.”
Jiang Lele: “You gave it to me. How can I give it back?”
“Add me on WeChat, and send me the money,” Jiang Shi replied, expressionless, holding up his phone. “I also accept QR code payments.”
Jiang Lele clutched his phone. “No way!”
But Jiang Shi’s words reminded him, “Wait, I really don’t have you on WeChat. I’ll add you now. Accept it.”
Jiang Shi: “…”
He never imagined that the trick he meant for Xie Xu would end up working on Jiang Lele instead.
Jiang Shi tapped “accept” in the friend request menu and absent-mindedly considered just sending Xie Xu a “PDD discount promo” link.
Zhao Jiu watched their back-and-forth and teased, “Why does it seem like gifting skins is the only way to add you as a friend?”
He looked at Jiang Shi with a grin. “Time, if I gift you a skin, can I get a friend slot too?”
“Jiu-ge, please stop teasing me.” Jiang Shi sighed, then added Zhao Jiu and Yu Hui via the team group. As he reached Xie Xu’s avatar, he sighed internally.
Although his earlier methods were crude, at least they involved some effort — unlike the current approach of adding everyone through the group.
Perhaps his hesitation was too obvious because Xie Xu smiled and asked, “Why are you hesitating when it comes to adding me?”
Jiang Shi didn’t expect this to be noticed. “I’m not hesitating…”
He lowered his gaze and quietly said, “I just think the captain is special.”
After saying this, Jiang Shi himself felt a little embarrassed.
But it was the truth.
Xie Xu had always been special to him, so much so that even adding him as a friend needed some level of ceremony.
But at this point, Jiang Shi realized he couldn’t come up with anything creative anymore, so he decided to just go for it.
Just as Jiang Shi was about to send the request, a notification sound unique to gift-giving suddenly came through his headphones.
Jiang Shi looked up to see that his game interface now had a new mail notification.
[Your friend TLG-Xu has sent you a gift. Please check!]
Jiang Shi clicked on the details, and five festive New Year’s skins appeared on his screen, accompanied by exaggerated fireworks effects, filling his vision.
He stared blankly at Xie Xu, who then extended his phone to him, accommodating his childish yet special sense of ceremony.
“Five skins for one friend slot from Time?”
T/L: Jiang Shi reads smut before bedtime? He’s so relatable in many strange ways…
